Naruto: The Dark Knight
by Kurogane7
Summary: AU: Naruto has been taken out of Konoha to be trained in the art of swordsmanship by GSD. Watch out Konoha, as he fights with the power of waves. Dungeon Fighter Online crossover: Initial-Asura Naruto X Harem. Rated M for sex, violence, and cursing. NO MORE CHAPTERS! BEING REWRITTEN!
1. Leaf on the Wind

**_A/N: Okay, the search for takers in my little writing challenge has proven to be a bit of a disappointment…so far. I suppose this is a sign that I should take the initiative, and start the storyline myself—those who are interested will find the details of the challenge in my profile. I only hope that I don't butcher the Naruto world any worse than I've heard Kishimoto has done. There will be a harem…as to who you think should be in the harem, please comment to me on who you want in your reviews—but let it be known that so far, Hyuuga Hinata, Fem Kyuubi, and Mitarashi Anko are confirmed for the harem. As usual, your comments will determine if it's worth continuing this story. With that in mind, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Konohagakure, October 10, 11 PM…]

It was raining, and on October 10. Despite the foul weather, everyone was at the festival celebrating the death of the Kyuubi and the Yondaime Hokage…it was a happy sight, parents passing candies to their children, games were being played, so many things were going on that a bald and blindfolded old man with a thick mustache and short beard was not noticed in the crowd. So many things were assaulting the old man's senses that would have been pleasant…were it not for the fact that he knew something was also wrong about this picture. Being blind for so long had given him the ability to pinpoint very subtle details around him—a useful trait given the number of swords strapped to his back. Right now, under the mask of happiness and celebration, the old man heard the sounds of feet running around en masse—an angry mob was chasing what appeared to be a little boy around the streets of the village known as Konoha; and as of this moment, the old man knew where he had to go now…

…

Naruto had been running around town for the past few hours now. Being the target of so many attacks had made him an expert free-runner, and coupled with his inhuman stamina, he was practically uncatchable. The mob was starting to close in; as he looked behind him, he could notice the crowd was waving around a lot of weapons and torches…and it would seem that life really hated him at this point because this time there were ninja in the mob, throwing kunai and shuriken at him. Thankfully, all these attacks have also trained his reflexes, and so he was able to dodge everything thrown at him in mid-step.

It was here that he found himself turning into an alley—yeah, it was clear that life really hated him now, due to the fact that the alley ran into a dead-end. Once he turned, he only saw the futility of running. The mob was closing in…and there was nowhere to go. It was here that he slowly started backing up out of fear…before he accidentally stepped on a can and fell on his back. And then, hell had begun as the crowd rushed on in, and began its onslaught, stomping on him, some members of the crowd even went so far as to punch him in the face. He managed to muster up the strength through the pounding to let out an anguished: "What did I do?" Even through the beating, he could hear what they were saying very clearly.

"WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU WERE BORN YOU MONSTER!"

"DIE DEMON!"

"THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER YOU BASTARD!"

"WE'RE NOT SAFE AS LONG AS THAT DEMON IS STILL ALIVE!"

"TIME TO FINISH WHAT THE YONDAIME STARTED!"

"SCREW THE SANDAIME'S LAW! KILL THE DEMON BRAT NOW SO THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING TO ACTUALLY CELEBRATE!"

And this was among the clearest sentences he could hear. Naruto tried to crawl away, but someone threw a sword at his left shoulder, severing the deltoid muscle and the humerus at the ball joint, followed by several kunai and shuriken penetrating his arms and legs to ensure he did not escape. The crowd moved out of the way for one the ninja among them to drag him out. The look of utter hatred in their eyes was clear as one of the ninja pulled the sword out slowly, causing him more pain, saying "To hell with my brother…I'm doing what's right for Tenten whether he likes it or not!" before he cut off Naruto's left arm. Another ninja then held a kunai against his throat. "This is more than you deserve for killing my girlfriend you monster!" Upon finishing that sentence, the ninja dug the kunai into the boy's neck to penetrate the jugular vein. He then watched with glee as the demon started bleeding to death due to openings in his jugular and subclavian arteries…

…

The old man was horrified at what he sensed…true, the boy's body housed a demon within, but that did not mean that he was the demon incarnate. Before he could think anymore on his anger at these ignorant people for killing and mutilating an innocent child, he felt something pulse from the body. No, it couldn't be…but then again, it was worth it just to see if what he was sensing was true…

…

[Naruto's Mindscape…]

Deep within Naruto's mindscape, one would feel as if they were in a sewage system given the darkness surrounding them and the pipes crisscrossing the ceiling and the walls. That was what was going through Naruto's mind as he examined his surroundings…his exploration was cut short as he heard the sound of chuckling down the corridor of the sewer. He followed it to the L-junction and turned left to find the source of the laughing. It was here that he turned and found himself looking at a dead end with a large cage to the left.

Naruto looked at the doors of the cage, and found that they were held in place with a single slip of paper that said 'seal' in kanji, and he heard the sound of breathing heavy in the air. "You kit, come closer," said the voice, the silky smooth texture of it compelling him to take one cautious step towards the cage, "closer…" The second he took another step, this took him a few inches to the front of the cage; it was then that he noticed that it had become dead quiet…before the sound of his screaming filled the air as a naked arm shot out from between the bars of the cage, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and pulling him off his feet and into the darkness, all in the span of about two seconds.

The second he felt that the hand had let him go, Naruto felt himself fall flat on his stomach. As he started to let himself up, he noted that there was nothing around…all he saw was black…black…in all directions, he could see nothing but black as far as the eye can see. His adrenaline rush had not yet subsided after the arm pulled him into this darkness, and he could feel it spike even higher as he heard laughter come out of nowhere. Out of fear, he could not help but let out a nervous "Hello?"

Once he calmed down a bit, he began to analyze his situation…and the person that was laughing. It was clear that the voice was female, and yet it had a silky texture to it…as if her voice and the voice he heard before were one and the same—the latter being of a lower pitch of course. As he thought back to the arm that grabbed him, he noted that it was thin and muscular…containing a large amount of hidden power, and yet it also looked dainty…almost as if it belonged to a…

"I was wondering when you'd show up," said the voice, causing Naruto to look around and find the source of that scary, yet sultry voice, "although I was hoping you'd come and see me at a less troubling time than this, but it's good to see you all the same." The adrenaline pumping through his blood was running on overtime. He was utterly terrified of that voice, and yet he was also drawn to it even more as he tried to find the person whose voice that belonged to. Before long, he felt and heard something tear his shirt off from behind, causing him to look around for the perpetrator. Next thing he knew, something ripped it out from in front, revealing his malnourished body…now he was getting really scared. Once the adrenaline was at its peak, he saw a pair of arms wrap around him…one arm snaked from under his right armpit and grabbed his mouth, the other running the hand down his stomach and both pulling him backwards into something soft squeezing against his upper back as it pressed him against something firm and hard, causing him to turn red enough to put tomatoes to shame. Yes, this was most definitely a woman, and a very strong one at that, especially given the voice that let out a throaty sound of pleasure as he was gently pressed into the chest and stomach muscles of this woman…and apparently, judging by how smooth the surface was that he was touching, this was a very much naked woman if her large breasts were any indication. He was just plain terrified…that a woman like this would even be here as her breath was brushing against his ear—terrifying, and yet hot at the same time. "P-please don't hurt me…I'll do anything…just don't hurt me…"

"You need not worry about me kit, I mean you no harm," she said after moving her mouth closer to his ear, letting the words riding on her breath overload his senses, as they grazed the surface, "In fact, I think you need to get a well-deserved rest right about now, I'll explain everything later…when you're here on your own terms…"

Before he could ask any more questions, Naruto felt as the woman began to caress him from behind—running her hand up and down his stomach while the other one let go of his mouth to push his head gently to see the face of the woman that was touching him; this was an image of beauty he would never forget…her head was heart-shaped, and her face had high cheekbones, and her long hair was the color of fresh blood and her savage-looking eyes were of a brighter shade of red. All thoughts were thrown out the window as he watched this feral beauty slowly lick the tears of terror off his whisker-shaped birthmarks. He never did understand why it always hurt more when he was slapped on the cheeks, neither did he understand why it felt good when somebody stroked them—that weird white-eyed girl seemed to like touching them, and for some reason, she seemed to know to be extra gentle with them. It was then that he started feeling the hand on his stomach wander downwards and stroke him in his nether-regions while she moved quickly from licking his cheek to outright kissing him…something about her and the way she touched him seemed to comfort him…the way she kissed made him feel safe…it made him feel sleepy…

As he slept, the woman gazed upon his body. She was disgusted at the people of this village…their beloved Yondaime Hokage had asked one thing of them; ONE THING! And what did they do? They spit on his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of his wife! Her last container! How dare they do this to him! Well now that the boy was resting, she could now get a little taste of freedom to satisfy her craving for it…and while she's at it, she may as well get some vengeance. But now that the kit was dead, she had only one option to take control of his body and save his life—she never wanted to do it, as a matter of fact, she absolutely refused to do it. But all things considered, she may not have any other choice but to bring the curse upon him to ensure his survival and to punish these ignorant humans…

"I hope you can forgive me for this later kit, but there was no other choice. I refuse to let you die my love, and I absolutely refuse to let those fools get away with what they did to you…and the second I have my freedom, your beloved jii-san and I will be having words…"

…

[Real World…]

The mob was celebrating…they had finally killed the demon brat! Now they could really celebrate! Now they could really say to themselves that the Yondaime's work was done! Even the ninja responsible for the brat's death could not help but smile…up until they felt something…and then they turned and saw something they never thought they'd see: the demon brat was getting back up even after all the things they did…and even stranger still, he moaned in pain after a few seconds of managing to stand back up. What made everyone almost empty their stomachs in disgust was the fact that the moans of pain had ended as the demon brat had sprouted a new arm from the stump. This arm was a solid and bloody red and humanoid with five fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws, but the redness started soon started to expand all over the demon boy's body as his eyes starting to glow red. To add to his fearsome appearance, Naruto also started growing fangs from his mouth as his appearance made him look like a wild beast, as his whisker marks started to deepen in both color and intensity. He then looked at his hands as if inspecting something…what they heard coming from his mouth would haunt them for the rest of their lives, as instead of a boy's voice they were hearing, it was a woman's.

"Interesting…I feel so light in this body…as if I were a leaf on the wind, allowing those beneath me to watch how I soar." Before the boy could muse any further on his thoughts, he dodged a downward slash from the ninja swordsman, and used the momentum of spinning around to smash his fist in the occipital bone of his skull. Whether it was fortunate, or unfortunate that the man's death was so quick and simple, the other ninja in the group didn't know…but what they did know was if that punch didn't kill him, then the floor would have splattered his skull like a rotten melon given the momentum that getting hit in that area in the right time would have added. The remaining ninja were frightened by the turn of events…this was Higurashi Manten, a jounin ninja that was known for his top-tier skills in kenjutsu and the brother of Higurashi Hiten, one of the demon-lovers apparently.

Their attentions were then turned to the demon boy as he picked up the katana that Manten tried to kill him with to inspect the blade. He then gave a few test swings with his right arm, and nodded in approval to the blade. The voice coming from the demon's mouth would have caused some bloody noses to the perverts in the group…were it not for the fact that the demon brat owned that voice, and it didn't help the creepiness factor that there was a fanged grin on the boy's face as he looked at the crowd. "Show me what you've got."

The rest of the ninja shook off their fear, as their leader turned to face them. "Steel yourselves men! We outnumber the brat…I guarantee you, that demon dies toni…" before he could finish that sentence, the leading ninja felt a blade pierce his spine at section T6, and then penetrate his heart before his dying body was dragged down and back, and then kicked forward off the blade. At this point, the other ninja who were chuunin were very disturbed by the sight of the demon brat slowly licking the blood sprayed on his lips, and readied themselves to kill the demon boy before he could attack again; holding kunai at the ready to stab and slash as they charged into him—the fox demon's response was the blade turning a vile purple before he spun around, and brought the blade down from right to left mid-swing. During the attack, an image of a skull-like visage appeared before the ninja, before noticing the demon brat's disappearance. Once they started looking around, they found that their attention was caught by a whistle, and the demon brat was right behind the mob.

The voice was teasing…talking down the Konoha ninja as if it were superior. "If that's the best that Konoha can do to kill a so-called 'demon', then you're already doomed. As to the rest of you idiotic ninja that are still here, I wouldn't bother persisting…I've already killed you."

The rest of the chuunin heard that, and were angered by the words…and that was the last emotion they felt as they finally realized the truth in the demon's words the hard way. One by one, each ninja fell to the ground dead, apparently having been cut by an ultra-sharp blade as they all fell to the ground in two pieces. The crowd of civilians that was left behind was beyond scared now…this wasn't supposed to happen! The demon brat was supposed to die tonight! Not come back to life and get stronger! They needed to run before…"What's the matter? Didn't one of you something about 'finishing what the Yondaime started'? Well here's your chance to actually finish the job!"

At this point, the crowd had started to lose its nerve, and began to disperse until they were pushed into the alley by an unseen force after the demon brat shot a fist into the air. "Nuh-uh! I don't think so! None of you morons are going anywhere until one of you kills me! What, you all thought that I wouldn't know that you'd beat an innocent child to get to me? You're all a bunch of stupid, hypocritical pussies you know that? So who's the first victim?"

"That's enough now!" The voice that spoke from behind was very firm and wizened. Oh, the demon knew who that voice belonged to. "Stay out of this old man, these people have been asking for it for a while now, and I'm pretty sure you have a general idea of what's happening." The old man behind her simply shrugged. "I have a general idea of what's going on with the boy…and I know what you are exactly. For a demon queen such as yourself, you are very powerful, especially given your lineage."

"I'd rather you didn't refer to **_daddy-dearest_** anywhere near me old man, unless you want to see how much of him is in me. Anyway, those idiots have had it coming…and I intend to bring that punishment here and now for what they did to the boy."

The old man knew of her lineage…and to be honest, he couldn't blame her. The demon Kazan, or the Juubi as he was known in these parts, was not exactly a friendly demon…nor was he the kind and gentle sort, and that his 'children' all had resentment towards him. He also knew that this much violence would've drawn in more ninja by. It was then that GSD moved closer to whisper in the possessed boy's ear. "I know that, but if you want to make sure the boy stays in the Hokage's good graces, I would recommend that you relinquish control of his body back to him now—he's on his way. Don't worry, I'll have words with him while you're out, but in the meantime, I would recommend you allow the boy's body to rest—I understand why you did what you did, but you and I both know what would happen if an untrained body were to have sustained activity without a limiter."

It was then that the possessed boy realized the truth in the old man's words, and what needed to be done. Then he sighed. "Fine, but you make sure that while I speak with the boy, you talk to that stupid old man about getting him out of here. And if you intend to train him, you'd better take damn good care of him, are we clear?" Those were the demon's last words before the boy's skin tone began to change back to normal except for his left arm, which remained red and tipped in claws.

Before long, the Hokage appeared with several ANBU ready. As he looked at the scene before him, he was sickened at the deaths of several ninja, and the fact that yet again, civilians took advantage of the fact that he was busiest at this time to abuse Naruto. His answer to the situation was clear: "Hebi, take Naruto to the hospital and make sure that Dr. Hazama knows of what happened. The rest of you, take the rest of these civilians to Ibiki."

The ninja all let out their words of affirmation, and disappeared to do their jobs. "I suppose you are Sarutobi Hiruzen?" Hiruzen had heard, and looked behind to see a blindfolded old man in a dark cloak behind him. "Who wants to know?"

"I'd like to have words with you about the boy that your ninja just took to the hospital."

"Really? And who are you to ask?"

"Let's just say that I'm an interested party in the boy's welfare."

As he sensed the aura of the man before him, Hiruzen could see that he meant no harm whatsoever. He simply let out a sigh of relief. "Very well then, we'll talk in my office."

…

[Sarutobi Hiruzen's Office, Hokage tower…half an hour later…]

"So, we're finally in my office," began Hiruzen as he sat down behind his desk, "may I ask what you wanted to speak to me about in regards to young Naruto?"

"I'd like to take the boy with me on my travels," began the blind old man, as he sat down in the chair across from Hiruzen, "I figured it would do him some good to be out of this place for a while."

The look of skepticism was every bit as clear on Hiruzen's face as it was in his voice. "I appreciate the thought sir, but I don't think it would be a good idea that the boy leave the village mister…"

"Ah, yes, I must apologize for my lack of manners…to be honest it's been so long that I've been with other people that I've forgotten my name. I am known in some circles as GSD. But before we begin, I'd like for all eavesdroppers to leave the room…"

Hiruzen was surprised…for this old man to be able to sense his ANBU bodyguards, he must not be a small fish in this world. With that, the Hokage raised a hand, and made a gesture to all the ANBU in hiding to leave, causing four of them to materialize out of nowhere and leave, making sure to place a privacy seal on the door on their way out. "Very good, and you might want to let the gentleman outside the window in on this as well, as I have a feeling that this concerns him as well."

Oh he knew what he meant—but that didn't make him any less surprised. The man that GSD spoke of was very good at hiding after all. Hiruzen simply turned to the window with a sigh. "Well Jiraya, you heard the man, come on in." Upon hearing this, the man called Jiraya walked in from the window with a suspicious look on his face. Oh he has heard that name before…and Hiruzen made sure to ask him about it later.

GSD cleared his throat, and settled back down. "Now then, let us begin. I say that it would be a good idea that young Naruto leave on a journey with me to the outside world. From what I understand in my short time here in this village, the boy is not exactly loved…and I can sense your hesitance in this matter. Perhaps you can clarify to me as to why it is that you don't wish for the boy to leave?"

"The boy belongs here GSD," began Hiruzen, "that is all there is to it."

The blind man gave a slight smirk at that…as if he knew something. "Oh, and I suppose it doesn't have to do with the fact that the boy carries the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside his body?" Both the Hokage and the Sannin turned their heads to face GSD so fast, their necks almost broke from the force. "Don't be so surprised. I've noticed he was different from the idiots that tried to kill him—something I was able to deduce from being blind and able to sense chakra networks. I was able to speak to her and make her put young Naruto to sleep before she did any more damage using his body."

The looks on the two mens' faces was of clear shock. It was already bad enough that a secret of Konoha was seen through by a blind man, but to know that the Kyuubi was a woman really took the cake. It was then that Hiruzen regained his composure and began to speak. "Since you know, I don't think we can…"

"I'm not a fool. I know the consequences of revealing the fact that the boy is a Jinchuuriki, and I'm not aiming to do such a thing. But tell me, why make the boy's life an utter and unspeakable hell by telling the villagers about the sealing in the first place? Why keep him here when he could be doing so much better outside in the real world at the moment? He is after all, an ordinary boy, is he not?"

Jiraya took offense to the blind man's last sentence, and barely held himself back at that jab. GSD simply smirked, before he continued. "Judging from the reaction of your colleague, I'd say that the boy is far from ordinary then…but then again, this is an opportunity. You claim that young Naruto belongs here, but I've seen evidence tonight that says otherwise. If he is that important to you, then why have you not taken extra measures to protect him?"

Hiruzen was nearing the brim with guilt…he knew he should have taken extra measures. But all the same, it didn't help that he knew that GSD was right. "If I did, then it would've been seen as an act of favoritism…I've tried to do everything I could for the boy, but I can't seem to do everything. The civilian council overrides all my decisions…as it is, if it weren't for some of the elders and the majority of the shinobi council, he would have died the day he was born."

With a sigh, GSD knew that Hiruzen was an old man…true, even if that were the case, he should have done more to protect the boy. Nonetheless, he was adamant about his decision. "Then allow me to take the boy with me on my travels. During that time, I will be training him myself in my art. You get to set the limitations, seeing how much he really means to you."

The old Hokage still had his doubts, and was about to voice them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Sensei, I think it would be good for the gaki. If this man is who I think he is, then I think Naruto would be better off being out of the village for a while…at least until he has to participate in the academy." Even though the doubts were still there, Hiruzen could still hear the truth in his student's words. He'd seen Naruto's situation, and considered to himself how many times he'd been asked who his parents were…how often he had to watch Naruto end up in the hospital covered in many scars, asking why the people did this to him…so many things he could have done for young Naruto, and did not follow through. His answer was clear now.

"You can take Naruto on your travels…but under one condition: he is to be returned to Konoha by the time he is twelve years of age to enroll in the Ninja Academy. It was his father's last wish that he be a ninja of Konoha—I may have failed in his request that he be seen as a hero, but I refuse to fail him again in that respect."

GSD let out a light chuckle. Oh, he was liking this arrangement even more. "So I will be teaching the son of the Yondaime Hokage? Then it will be all the more interesting to have him as a student…and before you ask any further, I had simply put two and two together from what I've learned so far. We have an accord…I will return him to Konoha stronger than ever by the time he is twelve years old. There is no need to guide me to the hospital; I can sense the boy's chakra from here." With that, GSD got up and turned to the door.

When he was sure the older man was out of earshot, Hiruzen turned to his student…the question he had on his mind was clear in both his face and his eyes. Jiraya sighed and turned to his former sensei. "I've only heard rumors…I had doubts about their validity, but a small part of me has always believed in the possibility they may have been true. These rumors spoke of a blind old man walking around in the Shinobi Nations with a demonic arm. Nobody knows of his past, but what **_is_** known about him is that the man was practically a master swordsman…possibly even a grandmaster at the very least. Due to his old age, his skill, and his wise words, it is said that he taught his techniques to the original Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and several sages in Kumo among other students in the world—they even say Mifune of Tetsu no Kuni learned a few tricks from him. There was nothing that even my spy network had been able to find out about that old man that has been confirmed outside of the rumors surrounding him, nor was it understood why he was constantly travelling, but they did get a name from a few bandits that barely survived an ill-fated attempt to rob him; they said that the old man told them to call him 'GSD'."

The look of bemusement was on Hiruzen's face as he looked back at the stack of paperwork he had been forced to work on. It was as if on Naruto's birthday, they were at their largest—likely those were requests to have the 'demon brat' executed or exiled. Well, if they wanted Naruto gone, then they got their wish for now. And when he gets back, the villagers would think twice before trying to kill Naruto again. Speaking of whom, he also had to see Dr. Hazama about his favorite grandson-figure. Afterwards, he had several things to do…such as talking to Higurashi Hiten about what his brother did, and his fate. He could only imagine as to the look on young Tenten's face when she learns that her uncle died because he was being stupid.

…

[Konoha General Hospital, 8:13 AM…]

Naruto had awakened to the color of white everywhere…oh he knew where he was. He'd been to this place more times than he could count, and he could only hope that Hazama-sensei was the one treating him. As he sat up, he began to inspect his surroundings even more. He then had flashes of what had happened last night—blood, death, his arm turning red and demonic…yes, that was all he remembered. He simply lifted his left arm up to rub his sinuses from the migrane when he noticed that it had changed color…and that his hand was tipped in claws. Perhaps what he saw was not a vision after all…"I wouldn't make any noise now," said a voice near him, causing Naruto to yelp in surprise, "it is rude to disturb people when they are sleeping."

Once he found the owner of the voice, Naruto found himself looking at an old man with an x-shaped blindfold sitting in the chair next to his hospital bed. Sure enough, next to him was that weird girl from that clan with the white eyes sitting next to the ANBU Hebi that had always helped him out along with Tora. He then turned to the old man with a determined look to protect the two of them if he had to. As if sensing this, the old man continued: "They're fine; they were asleep by the time I got here. But you, young man…are coming with me the second you get better."

"Why?"

"Because I've just received express permission from the Hokage to take you with me on my travels as my student. Truth be told, I was there that night you were injured. I know what you did then was in self-defense, but you need to get stronger to control it. That's why I asked the Hokage to train you."

Naruto had thought about it…there was no lie in the man's voice—no malice, no false sincerity…just the intent to help someone. As he continued to sit in the hospital bed, he also thought about Hebi…thought about Inu, the Ichiraku's, and the old man…he even thought about the weird girl with the white eyes that was always following him…these were people he was willing to defend. His answer was clear.

"I'll go."

The old man simply grinned. "Very well then, we leave as soon as you recover. But you must promise me, that whatever I teach you, unless it is on a mission, never use what I teach you outside of self-defense and to defend those precious to you. Am I understood?" At Naruto's nod of acknowledgement, the old man reached out, and tousled the boy on the head. "Then rest up. You'll need all your strength."

…

[The Gates of Konoha, 1:00 PM…]

GSD sat by the gates in meditation as he awaited Naruto's arrival…contemplating on how to begin the young boy's training. There were different paths a slayer could take, but wondered which one Naruto would follow. Before long, he heard the steps of someone walking up to him. He knew from the chakra signature who this was. "Are you ready boy?"

"I'm ready to go, dattebayo!"

Upon hearing the boy's spirit return, GSD stood back up and turned around. "Then let's not waste any time. I have much to teach, and we've a very long road ahead…" As the two of them walked out the gates of the village, neither Naruto nor GSD had noticed a pair of white eyes watching from behind a building overlooking the gates…as one Hinata Hyuuga cried a silent farewell for the young Uzumaki.

…

**_A/N: Well now, this is possibly the longest first chapter I've ever done. I am debating with myself whether to gender-bend Sasuke as a twist and add him to the harem later, or to keep him a guy, give him a twin sister (who could be in the harem), and bash the hell out of him. Your thoughts on the matter would be every bit as appreciated as the harem list you leave in your reviews. Also, I apologize if I've overpowered Kyuubi and GSD (and plan to do so for Naruto in the far future), but the way I see it, Kazan knows all the Slayer techniques; and so not only should the two of them be able to use all Slayer techniques (Kyuubi being a piece of Kazan, and GSD being their skill trainer), but they're able to use them better than the average Slayer, be they Blademasters or Berserkers (in the case of Kyuubi)._**

…

**_Slayer Techniques Used:_**

**_Thrust—Blademaster_**

**_Ghost Slash—Soul Bender_**

**_Ghost Step—Soul Bender_**

**_Wave Radiation—Asura_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Splash" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue: Continuum Shift"—Naruto getting chased around_**

"**_Nine-tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—meeting Kyuubi_**

"**_Bad Situation" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Kyuubi counterattacks_**

"**_Departure" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—Naruto leaves with GSD_**


	2. Return

**_A/N: Well that was a surprise…when this story first came out, I got a lot of favorites and subscriptions a while after it was posted…not too many reviews I'm afraid. Several of you were kind enough to read and review, and give me your opinions on what I should be doing next in the story…and so as a compromise to the two of you and your suggestions, I'll try to combine both. But all the same, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Outskirts of Konohagakure, five years later…]

The day was like any other in the village of Konohagakure…the streets were bustling with people buying things, and it seemed like a party was going on nonstop—and for a good reason (well, as good a reason to many of the ignorant people in this village), as the demon brat had been taken away! For five years, the people had celebrated. They didn't care who took the little hell spawn with him, they just cared that he was gone…just like they wanted! They only hoped he killed the demon before he got back. Little did they know that their celebration would be for nothing; standing at the gates of Konohagakure were three people. Koutetsu and Izumo simply sat bored out of their minds at the gates—they really didn't want to be here, but it was necessary that they did…because no matter how boring the work in border patrol was, it was still very important. "I really wish there was something we can do around here," said Koutetsu, "anything's better than nothing. It's all the villagers' fault we're so damn bored…at least Naruto made things fun around here."

"I know, I'd even join that celebration were it not for the fact that everyone in it is such a complete idiot," said Izumo, "what they did to him five years ago was pretty much their own damn fault. If he turned into a demon and killed those ninja in revenge for trying to kill him, I wouldn't have blamed him…I'd turn into one myself knowing what he had to go through because of their stupidity and ignorance."

"Totally, but still…" Before he could finish his sentence, Koutetsu turned his attention to something down the road walking towards the gates. Oh he recognized that old man from five years ago…he was that guy that took Naruto out on a training trip. But he was now accompanied by two children around the age of twelve. One of them was apparently a boy that sported a zipped up high-collared vest with a hood that covered his face such that only his nose line was shown, a pair of baggy cargo shorts that went down to his calves, and a pair of plated greaves that went over his ninja sandals. He was carrying four weapons, three of which were definitely swords—on his back was a large sword and a tetsubo slung over his shoulder, and at his waist were a short sword and a katana. What made him stand out however was that a bulky metal cuff and armband with a chain attached to both was clamped over his left arm—which was red and ended in five claw-tipped fingers. The other was a young girl around the boy's age dressed in orange and brown skin-tight clothing. Her brown hair was tied behind her head in a bun, her eyes were the color of coffee, and she had the body of a girl her age that trained and worked hard in the martial arts; a very slender body type for a beautiful little girl with the potential to be even more beautiful if her cards were played right.

The two guards stationed watched as the three of them walked closer. Koutetsu worked up his nerve before speaking. "Can I help you sir?"

"Yes," began the old man, "you can start by telling your Hokage that I'm here…he pretty much vouched for me five years in advance to make sure that Naruto gets back in one piece."

The look of shock on Izumo's face was very clear as he looked at the boy in the hoodie. "That's Naruto? I hardly even recognize him…"

"Five years can do that to you," began the boy, "although to prove to you that I am who I say I am…Koutetsu, you owe Izumo fifty ryo for that time I pranked the Uchiha district, and started a chase throughout the village…and don't think I've forgotten about you Izumo, because you still owe me at least that amount because you bet me all the ramen I could eat if I could cause all that mayhem without being apprehended on that same day."

The two men looked at the boy with surprise in their eyes…only one person knew about that bet besides the two of them…the Uchiha district was rigged with traps in such a manner that all the male members in the district were caught in very gay positions. That's right…the Uchiha men (with the exception of Itachi) were accused of being gay as of that moment…suffice to say, every Uchiha that was a victim of the prank chased Naruto around the village to no avail. The boy was too tricky for them, even if they did use their beloved Sharingan to help in capturing him. By the end of the day, none of the Uchiha men were able to catch him. "It's good to finally see you again Naruto!"

"Likewise."

Koutetsu then glanced at the girl, who was with Naruto and the old man. Oh, he had a sly grin on his face…and the perverted chuckle was enough to get the boy's attention. "And I see you've got the very beginnings of young love there. Who is this little lady?"

The girl simply grinned confidently. "The name's Meilan, a pleasure to meet you…any friend of Naru-kun is a friend of mine."

Izumo coughed into his hand…much as he was into reuniting with Naruto and meeting his possible future girlfriend, there was still work to be done. "Your girlfriend is free to walk around the village after she and the old man speak with the Hokage…but under the Hokage's orders, one of us is supposed to escort you to the Ninja Academy while the other gets the old man to the Hokage tower."

The old man lifted his hand for a polite refusal. "No need for that, I already know my way around this village…although you are free to accompany me. Will you be fine on your own Naruto?"

"I'll be okay, Koutetsu and Izumo are trustworthy."

…

[Sarutobi's Office, Hokage Tower…1 hour later…]

Hiruzen had constantly found himself filling out form, after form, after form…and he was getting tired. He'd much rather deal with Konohamaru's clumsy attempts at assassinating him, or even Asuma's rebellious attitude than to deal with the enemy of every Kage. Oh how he wanted to just burn it all away and be done with it. In fact, as he looked to the stand holding his pipe on the right, he realized that he had just the thing to do just that! Oh, he grinned with glee at the thought that he could make it loo- "Hokage-sama," said the secretary, disturbing the poor old man from his thoughts as she slammed the door open, "Izumo's here, and he's brought an old man and a little girl with him. He said you had a meeting with him?"

The old Hokage stroked his beard for a moment upon hearing that…and then he remembered! "Send them in."

Lo and behold, in walked Izumo with GSD and a little girl in tow. "Thank-you Izumo, you can return to your post now."

Izumo bowed, as the little girl led GSD to a seat in front of Hiruzen. "So GSD, how are things so far?"

"Same as usual Hokage-sama, although I suppose it could be better considering what today is."

"Yes, about Naruto. How did the training go?"

"To be honest, I never expected for him to pick up on swordsmanship quite easily…given enough time to train him, I may name him my successor should I ever die. Although I suppose fate could have been kinder to the boy…"

The girl that was with GSD had a frown on her face—as if she knew what the old swordsman was talking about. "What happened?"

…

[Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy…]

Iruka looked at the class roster. He really wasn't looking forward to teaching this bunch—yes there were civilians seemed to take it seriously, and yes at the very least he had actual ninja kids to teach…but this year's batch of students had a very big problem that seemed to kill his mood: the majority of this year's batch of students was made up of fan girls…Uchiha fan girls. So many screaming little banshees cooing and wooing the last Uchiha…and it was really hurting his ears. Yeah, he really didn't like this batch much…especially with so many civilian parents convincing their daughters that the Uchiha were **_THE_** clan to marry into, all because Sasuke was the last of them. To his credit however, Sasuke seemed very disinterested in the fan girls…oh the injustice! Granted, Iruka had perverted dreams of having fan girls, but not to that extent—and on that note, he found he couldn't envy the boy. But still, his twin sister was more pleasant than this.

He heaved a sigh as the noise was getting to intolerable levels…he definitely didn't want this on a new day for school. Mizuki seemed to take amusement from Iruka's plight, and knew what was coming next. The latter inhaled a deep breath from both his nose and mouth, and let it out as he performed that infamous (to all but Iruka) Dai Onikubi no Jutsu: "ALL RIGHT YOU LITTLE SNOTS, SHUT UP!" Upon hearing this, the students had started to quiet down…even the fan girls knew not to test his wrath. "Good, now for roll-call…Aburame Shino?" Upon hearing his name, the said child raised his hand. "Akimichi Choji?"

The list went on all the way down to the U-section of the list. "Uchiha Sasuke?" Iruka looked around, and found the young boy glancing out the window. Oh how he wanted to smash his head through that window…but alas, the council would revoke his teaching permit if he did. "Uchiha Tsukiko?" His response was a terse "here" as he continued to go down the list. "Uzumaki Naruto?"

The sound of a door opening filled the air and interrupted Iruka and the class turned their attentions to the source of the sound, as in walked Koutetsu with a kid. "Sorry we're late," he said, "the kid moves slower than I remember…"

Iruka palmed his face, and shook his head. Clearly not his day at all…"That's okay, but is that Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yep, that's him."

Iruka studied the young boy, and saw that he was wearing a vest, with weapons strapped to his back. "Okay then; Koutetsu, you're free to go." The second he was given permission to leave, Koutetsu left the classroom while the teacher turned to face his student. "Naruto, why are you bringing weapons here?"

The boy turned to face him. "I'm sorry sensei," he said, the bemusement clear in his voice, "I didn't know anything about not bringing weapons to class, and I've been training with them for a while now. In fact, I just got here today, so this is the first time I've ever heard of such a rule."

The teacher had a look on his face that stated his understanding…Naruto has been out of town for five years (so he's heard), and so it wasn't surprising that he never heard of such a rule. It was also likely that his teacher did in fact train him in the use of all those weapons he carried on his back. "Well, just bring your weapons over and we'll put them away for you. Later on, I'll teach you how to seal them away so that you don't have to worry about them being stolen."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement, and started walking down the stairs towards the teacher's desk, first unlatching the tetsubo with a smooth octagonal shaft from the left sling, then the large sword from the right, next came the short sword at his lower back, and finally the katana at the left side of his waist. As they were all taken off his person and put on the teacher's desk, Iruka noted that each of his weapons was rather heavy if the creaking of the table were any indication. "Very good, now would you please take a seat next to Sasuke over there?"

The fan girls were not happy with the prospect that they were being hindered in their progress with seducing the last Uchiha by this newcomer…although the fact that they saw his arms seemed to diffuse a bit of their anger. "Can you please tell me which row that Sasuke is in?"

Iruka was puzzled…he was sure he said 'over there'…so why the question? "Can you please remove your hood?"

The boy saw no problem with it, and removed his hood, revealing sun-kissed golden hair in spikes and cheeks with whisker marks on them. What shocked the two teachers was the fact that this kid was wearing a blindfold…Iruka was possibly hoping that what he was seeing was not true…

…

[Hokage's Office, the Hokage Tower…]

"Blind?" asked Hiruzen, the shock evident on his aged features, "In five years, you have trained him blind?"

"That is not so. I was teaching a new skill him at the time. Instead, he accidentally learned another technique and suddenly went blind—I'm guessing that this was an exchange from the gods for this, perhaps to teach the boy humility."

The thoughts at the implications that ran through Hiruzen's head were mind-boggling. One thought however, was at the forefront: Naruto had the potential to be so powerful that he was blinded by the gods themselves? This thought was not a very easy topic to keep to himself and he was very sure that one way or another, Danzo would be hearing of this…but on the other hand, the good side of the coin was that if Naruto was taught properly, he could be the child of prophecy that Jiraya had spoken of! Perhaps he can be guided on the path to starting an era of peace! Yes, the opportunity was there! He could see it now!

…

[Ninja Academy…]

No wonder he asked…the boy was blind! Oh this changes everything…blind ninja would have to rely on their other senses in order to survive a career as ninja, but he was still missing out on the basics that he needed to know given his lack of sight. As he thought more on it, Iruka knew what sort of tests would have to be administered to blind students—and it was not too much trouble to do an oral test. "Very well then, give me your hand and I'll guide you to the row you're assigned to."

Iruka grabbed the hand of the student, earning very amused looks from the Uchiha fan girls that this boy needed to be guided to his seat. Ha! If that's the case, then Sasuke wins hands down…no matter what this newcomer has to put on the table! "Okay class, now that I have your attention, I'd like to welcome you all to the Ninja Academy! Now we're going to test you all on your capabilities in a moment. Those of you who know how to use jutsu, with me; everyone else goes with Mizuki."

…

[Ten minutes later…]

"All right class, this is pretty much a show-and-tell out here," began Iruka, "the reason is for safety—we don't want anyone getting hurt while this proceeds, so if you have a jutsu that requires a partner, then I will be your partner. Other than that, you may use the training dummies out here to perform a jutsu as necessary."

As he called out each name one by one, each student had performed a jutsu they each knew—Ino had asked Iruka to serve as a guinea pig for her family's renowned Shitenshin no Jutsu…allowing her to make him do some very silly things that he had the horror of watching himself do. Suffice to say, he used Ino's body to tell her to stop. Next up was Choji showing the Baika no Jutsu, causing him to puff up like a balloon before using Nikudan Sensha to roll around the field several times. Shikamaru had opted to stay out of the matter…it was not a surprised, due to the fact that he has inherited the infamous laziness of his family. Hinata Hyuuga was nervous at first, but performed superbly—when she used her Jyuuken techniques to strike the strings of the current training dummy to cause the straw to fall out. Kiba and Akamaru both performed Jujin Bunshin no Jutsu, and waved at the crowd. Before long, it was Sasuke and Tsukiko's turn, and the both of them used Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu to incinerate the next training dummy to come up.

As he went back to the stands, Sasuke had a very wide smirk on his face while all his fan girls cheered as he watched the new kid walk up to the training ring. He had just performed his family's rite of passage—nobody can top that…not even all the other clan children. At the same time however, this Uzumaki kid seemed to be making the number of fan girls on his side dwindle as they drooled at him unzipping his vest down from the collar, revealing his chiselled abs and the rest of his face. It appeared that they were also drawn by the fact that he was blind; seriously though, who can fight without the power of sight? As he looked on at the apparent newcomer, he had this assured look on his face—it was all show, he was sure of it. There was no way that dobe could ever match his prowess, even if he were able to see!

After being led to the training dummy, Naruto turned to the teacher. "Iruka-sensei, can I please have one of my weapons back? The jutsu I'm about to show will require its use."

Iruka had a look on his face as if debating whether or not to do so…eventually, he gave in; grunting slightly as he handed the boy the only blunt weapon he had been carrying when he entered class. "All right then Naruto, but I'll only let you have your tetsubo back for this."

"No worries. It'll do." The look of doubt on his face was clear to all but the boy that had said it. Knowing how much damage a blind person could do, even accidentally, Iruka motioned for the rest of the class to step back. To his surprise and shock, Naruto hefted the club in one hand as if it were a regular solid oak baseball bat before winding back with it in one hand, and swinging upward, causing the dummy to be uprooted from the ground. Naruto quickly recovered and swung back down on the dummy, causing it to spin in midair. The next thing that happened, the dummy fell back to the ground in six pieces, but that was not the disturbing part—the disturbing part was that the straw and bamboo dummy fell into six pieces as if it were cut apart by the sharpest sword in the world! Once he was done, Naruto got back up and sighed. "Aw man, all that training and I still can't cut it into more pieces than that!"

To Iruka, the sight was both very frightening and very impressive…as if it weren't enough that this boy was able to lift such a heavy weapon in one hand, he was also able to cut a training dummy into pieces with a blunt weapon in one swing, and it wasn't easy to do that mind you…those dummies were made of tightly-packed straw and the densest bamboo possible to simulate human flesh and bone. As a matter of fact, these dummies were the kind that Iron Country samurai used to test swords on when there was no execution planned! And to top it off, he said that he still couldn't cut it into more than six pieces…if Naruto could do that with an iron club, Iruka hated to imagine what would've happened if it were an enemy ninja that got in range of his student's senses.

The only response from many of the other students was the jaws hitting the floor and eyes widening at such a feat. Several of them had very specific responses however; Ino looked on at the sight, and had a thought—this newcomer was both hot and interesting…yes it would seem that she has already found herself a bit of a consolation prize in the event that she found Sasuke to be an unattainable goal.

Shikamaru had thoughts on how Naruto was able to manage such a task. Shino had no expression, but simply watched the newcomer carefully as his insects told him to be wary around this boy.

Hinata however, had no response other than to faint with a nosebleed, after turning red from embarrassment in seeing her future lover practically shirtless—yes, her Naruto was back, and better than ever!

Tsukiko simply was awed by the sight that such a feat was possible in the first place…although her newfound lust for the boy didn't help matters any when she immediately named herself the president of his fan club.

Sasuke however, simply glared daggers at Naruto after being one-upped by this blind newcomer that was able to manage this. But he held his rage in check…there'll be plenty of time to test out this dobe in the future…yes, this would be the perfect rival to practice fighting Itachi and prove his strength! And while he's at it, he'll make that blind fool teach him that technique…

…

[Bamboo grove, after school…]

Naruto sat around cross-legged. He was at peace…he was calm…well, he would've been calmer were it not for the fact that he felt the murderous intent of every person looking at him. Oh how he expected this, for the villagers to simply glare at him. According to what he heard, as long as he was attending the Ninja Academy, nobody could touch him—and if he graduated and became a ninja, then getting glared at would be the worst of his problems. That, and they were afraid of him due to his weapons. It was then that he sensed a very easily detected chakra signature walking towards him—easily detected, and easily recognized.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said, correctly identifying the person walking towards him, "why am I not surprised?"

If Sasuke's face showed surprise, it certainly didn't show. He simply worked up his composure…oh he knew what he wanted to do…and he'll get what he wants! "Fight me dobe!"

The blond simply continued to sit in meditation…the crowd was now surrounding the two of them…taunting him…calling him a chicken for not accepting the last Uchiha's challenge. "I really doubt it's a good idea Uchiha…you could get hurt."

"We'll see about that. Now just get up and fight me…or are you too chicken to do so?"

"I'm warning you Uchiha…back off, or else I'll humiliate you in the worst way possible."

Sasuke wasn't having any of it…he was going to get this dobe to fight him, even if the civilian council was needed to make him do so! "Oh come on, what's a blind kid like you going to do? I'll bet your training is nothing compared to the might of the Uchiha!"

That did it! Sasuke watched as his opponent let out a frustrated sigh before he pulled out his short sword, and walked towards the bamboo, cutting off a stalk, and peeling it clean of leaves. He then tossed the stalk towards his would-be opponent. "We decide this in one stroke," began Naruto, cutting and cleaning another stalk of bamboo, "this is to simulate if you had to come against me with a sword. If you win by dealing a lethal strike on me first, then I'll do whatever you want for the rest of the week—hell, I'll even throw in ownership of my weapons in the whole deal…on the other hand if I hit you first, then you have to treat me to all the ramen I can eat for the rest of the week. Am I clear?"

He watched as the blind kid held the stalk in his red arm, but handed his other hand out to shake…and with one tug, that one shake sealed the deal. Good! A chance to prove to the dobe that he is inferior to the Uchiha! Sasuke held the stalk overhead in preparation for a heavy strike. Naruto on the other hand, held his stalk in one hand behind him…waiting. The crowd was ecstatic! There's no way that the demon brat would win against the Uchiha elite…and before long, he'll know his place as their punching bag! Hayate Gekkou on the other hand was watching the match in fascination—the supposed 'demon brat' was teaching the Uchiha a lesson in swordsmanship…oh this was going to be very interesting…

It was then that the duel began when Sasuke let out a battle cry and charged in with his bamboo stick at the ready to cut down his opponent. Just when he reached his opponent, Sasuke brought the stalk down upon Naruto's shoulder, Naruto brought his stalk up to strike the Uchiha from under the armpit; the impact of both hits had come at the same exact moment. To the crowd, it looked like a tie…but Gekkou was no fool in the art of swordsmanship—he knew that this was no tie; he knew who the winner was, and it was very obvious that the winner also understood as to why…

Sasuke grinned…he had finally shown this blind upstart his place! "Looks like a draw dobe. You're not as good with swords as you claim!"

Oh victory was his…and yet, for some reason, the blind kid was grinning as well. He was mystified by that grin. "It wasn't a draw," he said, putting the stalk down, "I would've won."

This really angered the Uchiha—it was clear to him that it was a tie. "You're just mad because it's a tie, and you're not as good as you say you are! If you're so convinced you won, then why don't we up the stakes? I've heard that you came here with a girl…if you lose to me, then not only will you be forced to do as I say for the rest of the week, but she will be forced to take up that punishment as well."

Naruto heaved a disappointed sigh. "There's no convincing you of what's obvious is there? Very well then, I'll show you why I won this. I guarantee you that what I will show you will make you want to beat yourself silly over it. And since we're upping the ante now, then how about this: if I win, then not only do you have to treat me to ramen for the next week, but you have to actually take one of your fan girls out on a date for a week—and it has to be the same fan girl." Sasuke was actually worried when his opponent reached out his normal arm again. Unlike him, there was no false confidence in the blind boy's voice as he spoke…he spoke as if he were **_going_** to win. Bah! He's a talentless and clan-less loser! What could he do with hard work alone?

With that on mind, he shook the dobe's hand, and took to his original position. He gave out another battle cry, and charged in…like before, Naruto struck him from under the armpit; only this time he noted his opponent apparently dancing around him before he felt it on the back of his head!

As he started blacking out, Sasuke then understood why he would've lost if they were using real blades—Naruto only **_let_** him score a hit to give him a false sense of security at the last moment so that he could finish off the movement! And so even if that strike to the head didn't hack him into two pieces, the very first cut under the armpit would have guaranteed that at least his subclavian artery would have been cut so that he would bleed to death slowly. His last emotion at his defeat was of happiness…

The crowd could not believe it…the demon brat had beaten their beloved Uchiha to death! They watched as after he slammed that bamboo stick on the back of Sasuke's head before swinging that deadly cudgel in his hand around as if performing chiburi and noto. It wasn't until after the hands met in noto that Sasuke fell to the ground. Tsukiko on the other hand was very nervous…was her brother dead? "Relax! I only knocked him out," said Naruto, his voice irritated as if sensing their intent to kill him, "just splash some water on his face and he'll be up and running like he's won a million ryo."

Everyone turned to him, and then watched as a ninja walked on over and checked the unconscious boy's pulse. "The kid's right, Sasuke's still alive—unconscious, but alive nonetheless." As the crowd turned to attack the demon brat for defeating their precious Uchiha, they noted him walking away hand-in-hand with a little girl with a bun on the back of her head. Oh now they had another bit of ammunition to use against him! They need only plan their attack just right…and then that girl leading the demon brat away would be used as a breeding factory making Uchiha babies for the glory of Konoha!

As Tsukiko watched the two of them walk away hand-in-hand, she could not help but glare daggers at the young girl. With the amount of resentment she was feeling at the moment, she was picturing herself as being the one to lead Naruto away into the sunset like that…and they were leaving that bun-haired bimbo in the road, beaten, bloodied and scarred. She was also picturing a scene where she would be leading Naruto by the hand and into the Uchiha district, doing unspeakable things to him in her room…unspeakably pleasant things to him…but she'll have to wait for that moment. Until then, she had a perverted nosebleed and an unconscious sibling to take care of…

…

**_A/N: I'm wondering if I should add the other Dungeon Fighter classes to the story in his harem…we have a fighter already, but perhaps I can add a thief, mage, gunner, and priest. So far, no bashing, because I've finally come up with a compromise of whether or not I should be bashing Sasuke. Anybody care to guess what I have in store? The next chapter will have the answer…_**

…

**_Slayer Techniques Used:_**

**_Wave Wheel Slasher—Asura_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Lakeside" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue: Continuum Shift"—The return_**

"**_Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—first day in Ninja Academy_**

"**_Bushido" by Kaoru Wada from "Samurai 7"—Show-and-tell_**

"**_Hoeru Miburo" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—Naruto beats down Sasuke_**

…

**_Vocabulary:_**

**_Dai Oni Kubi—"big demon head"_**

**_Tetsubo—this is a heavy club that samurai use, also called a 'kanabo'; this sometimes takes the form of a baseball bat made of heavy wood and studded at the head, or even a rod with an octagonal shaft made of solid iron. It has been known as the weapon of choice for the Oni, the Japanese ogre…such is its association with the Oni that there is a saying in Japanese: "Oni ni kanabo" (an ogre with an iron club), meaning to give someone already strong something to make them invincible._**

**_Subclavian artery—the artery that is under your shoulder bones._**

**_Chiburi—flipping blood off your katana right after you draw it and cut your opponent._**

**_Noto—sheathing the katana right after performing chiburi._**


	3. Twin Secrets

_**A/N: Probably a filler, I'm not sure, but at least we learn a secret about the Uchiha twins in this chapter, and my compromise is revealed…do read and review would you kindly?**_

…

[The Streets of Konoha…]

"Where are you taking me Meilan?" asked Naruto as he was being led by his normal hand, "I know you said that there's a surprise waiting, but you're moving me around too fast. What's the rush?" And it was true, Meilan's pulse was very elevated in such a manner that it showed her glee. As a whole, she was a very happy child—and after what happened to her family, this was a good thing for her to be so again…it meant that she moved on. Even though he could still feel the taint of sadness in her aura, he could tell that her happiness was sincere. But it still didn't help the fact that he was scared due to the fact that while she was a very sweet girl, Meilan was also able to break every bone in his hand very easily if she wasn't careful. As it were, even though she was dragging him along to the source of her excitement with apparently good intentions, he almost felt as if his arm was getting ripped off.

"I'll tell you when we get there," she began, "but right now, we're having dinner…I just found this good place I know you're going to love!"

…

[Meanwhile, at the gates of Konoha…]

GSD sat at a hilltop overlooking the village…it was at times like these that he wished he had his eyes back. Unfortunately, his original path as an Asura was not kind—he felt like some god that had to sacrifice one of his eyes for wisdom. Perhaps it was in fact the reason that some of his students chose not to be Asuras…the total cost of their eyesight was too great a price to pay to them. And he couldn't blame them…he still missed the days when he would see Ellen's face, the days when he would savor in his victory, even the moments of watching the sunset with her until she fell asleep.

On the other hand because he went blind, he found that he started appreciating all the other more subtle details about Ellen while she was alive—he could hear the rhythm of her heartbeat in his mind as she embraced him. He also remembered such things as the feel of the calluses on her hands from wielding a pair of claws, the very natural smell of irises that she seemed to be steeped in, and even the sweet and tart taste of berries in her mouth as she kissed while making love to him. Oh, so many things he missed about her…she was such a beautiful woman, and strong as an ox to boot. He cried tears of sadness as he had wished to be able to see her again…to be with her again…to hold her again…

He simply sighed…crying about it wouldn't bring her back, and neither would dwelling in the past. What has happened has already happened…there was no turning back the clock. The only thing he could hope for was when Naruto learned all the skills he taught him, that he would be able to see her in the next life when his time came. Until then, he had some travelling to do alone…and as he remembered the times he had with Meilan and his student, GSD knew that the two of them would be in good hands while he is gone.

But for now, he had something he needed to investigate…if what he's been hearing as of late was true, then someone was trying to recreate the Curse of Kazan; and this was a task he needed to do alone…

…

[Meilan's Surprise Location…]

"We're here!" cheered Meilan, finally stopping at their destination. Once he gathered his bearings, Naruto started to get a sense of his surroundings: the area was a bit warmer and so it was likely that they were indoors, the sound of a pilot being on indicated that this was either a kitchen or a home, and there was a mix of so many smells—flour, salts, spices, meats, all of these were very delicious smells reinforcing the possibility that this place was mostly a kitchen. It was very, very likely that Meilan had taken him to a restaurant…and something about this place seemed very familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on it… "Welcome! How may I take your order?"

And then it hit him…why he felt so comfortable here, why he had this urge to sit down and ask for ten bowls of miso-ramen with barbecued pork, and even knew the voice of the speaker: "Teuchi-jiisan, is that you?"

The old man looked at one of his customers, and found a mop of blond hair on his head. Granted, he was blindfolded, but he still remembered that boy for those very distinct whisker marks on his face. "Naruto?" The older man was in shock…his favorite customer that had disappeared five years ago had finally returned! "Naruto! It's so good to see you again!" he shouted, giving the boy a hug, "After all these years, I never thought you'd be coming back! I…oh wait, I just remembered—AYAME! GET OVER HERE, THERE'S SOMEONE I THINK YOU SHOULD SEE!"

From behind the counter, Naruto could hear the lighter footsteps of a woman walking towards him. "Yes da…" before she could finish her sentence, she immediately recognized the face that her father was hugging…and she didn't blame him—truth be told, she wanted to hug that boy too. "Naruto's back!"

Ichiraku Ayame looked on at the boy she considered a little brother—Naruto had changed; he was a little taller, had a red arm with a chain attached to it on shackles around to his wrist and his upper-arm, was shirtless except for a hooded vest, but all those other descriptions were thrown out of the window as she noted that he was wearing a blindfold. The concern in her voice was clear as she spoke. "Naruto, what happened to your eyes?"

Teuchi finally remembered the fact that Naruto was wearing a blindfold…was he blind? "It was sort of a price I had to pay to learn a technique I was shown," he began, his joy beginning to fade slightly, "I wouldn't worry about it though…I've made my peace with it after I learned it. Granted, it was an accident that I learned how to do it in the first place, but I still made my peace with it." It was then that his mood brightened a little when he decided to change the subject—as it did, so did the entire area. "So, how about ten bowls of pork ramen for me and for Meilan here, a chicken ramen?"

The family of two had their moods brighten when they heard that. Even though Naruto had lost his vision, he was still their Naruto—their favorite customer. And both of them being ninja themselves (Teuchi having been a jounin before retiring and opening the stand and Ayame being a member of ANBU), they too understood that some jutsu had a price to pay in order to learn them…they were only thankful that Naruto didn't have to pay with his life. As the two of them went to the kitchen to prepare the orders, Ayame couldn't help but shed a small tear for Naruto and the price he had to pay to learn whatever technique he did…because now she would never see those glittering ocean-blue eyes ever again.

"So Meilan, what else is there aside from the ramen?" asked Naruto, the curiosity still in his voice, "I suppose the ramen is just a celebration right?" He could practically feel Meilan's smile on her face…whatever it was must be very good news. "We spoke with the Hokage earlier," she began, "we're getting an apartment!"

Now that was news enough to turn his head to her direction. This bit of news was surprising…still this was good news. Although he couldn't help but feel that there was something else in her joy…something that would cause her to strangle him with sweetness as she hugs him with a superhuman strength.

…

[Elsewhere…]

"Achoo!" Tsunade had just let it out…she was in front of a pachinko machine trying to score a victory when she suddenly had the urge to sneeze.

Upon hearing the sneeze, Shizune had walked towards her master, with concern in her eyes. "Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just have the feeling someone's talking about me…"

…

[Ichiraku's Ramen…]

He could feel the anticipation now…in fact it should be happening in about three…two…one! The movement was quick as Meilan pounced and embraced Naruto in a very passionate hug. "I'm going to school with you!"

Even more of a surprise! Now he didn't have to go to school without knowing anybody! Now he has a familiar face…well familiar to him anyway, given that he can't see anymore, but still the idea applied. And yet, as he was losing some air, he still managed to get enough of a breath to get her attention. "M-Meilan…y-you're…"

His strangled words had finally reached her ears, and suddenly Meilan remembered her strength…with a sheepish look on her face, she released Naruto from her loving embrace. "Sorry, it's just that I'm so excited at the prospect of going to school with you."

At that, Naruto started breathing in sighs of relief from being released from that affectionate and iron embrace. "I know, and I want you in school with me too, but you've really got to remember how much stronger you are than me." Noticing that she was about to pout, Naruto immediately pulled her into a hug with his right arm…if he touched Meilan with his left arm, he'd have one perverted woman that lived in it to deal with—not to mention all the dirty thoughts that she'd suggest. After the moment of affection, the two of them joyfully began to eat their meals…

…

[Meanwhile, at the Hyuuga compound…]

Oh she had witnessed it! She felt joy as she watched Naruto beat that arrogant Uchiha into La-la Land. She then watched as that sweet-looking girl took her Naruto-kun away! She even followed the two of them to that ramen stand that Naruto favored before he left Konoha on his training trip! As of this moment, one Hyuuga Hinata was red…not from shyness this time, but from anger! And if one could look closely enough, they would see that there was also an aura of green about her from jealousy. All Branch Hyuuga members that watched as she was barely restraining herself from stomping in rage had made a note to not get in her way…one particular branch member however looked at her with an arrogant smirk on his face.

"I hope you're ready, because fate has decreed that you will hereby and henceforth be a failure to the clan! Just like that boy you like so much—he will be nothing!"

The speed at which she stopped and turned her head to glare daggers at Neji surprised everyone witnessing the event. Target sighted…source of added rage confirmed…target currently classified as anger management session…response to insult to self and Naruto-kun: IMMEDIATE TERMINATION! With that line of thought on her mind, Hinata walked down and onto the arena with many Hyuuga both main and branch members watching the exchange. Several of the main clan members simply snickered to themselves that the 'failure to the clan' would indeed be so, and that they would get to bully her into submission…the branch members however, all noticed the look on Hinata's face, and began to question the fate of one Hyuuga Neji after he obviously pissed off the heiress.

As soon as she had stood a few inches in front of Neji, the fight had begun when Neji launched a Jyuuken strike at her forehead with his left arm—only for the unexpected to happen! At the last moment, Hinata turned away from the Jyuuken strike and used the momentum of the turn to slam an extremely fast and heavy left hook into Neji's temporal bone, sending him down and onto the gravel. Before he could respond, he watched as Hinata kicked him over so that he was flat on his back, and continued her savage beat-down upon her cousin by taking advantage of his disorientation and stomping on his right wrist eliciting a scream of pain from him, and then stomping on his left wrist, sitting astride of him with her knees on his shoulders, and then savagely landing no less than ten heavy punches upon Neji's face before finishing him off with a couple of double-fisted downward slams as she took every ounce of her anger and apparent jealousy out on him.

Once she was done and was sure of Neji's incapacitation and survival, Hinata began to stand up as she felt a little bit of the rage pent up at the moment subside…but it still wasn't enough. She needed more anger-management aids now. "WHO'S NEXT?" Everyone hearing that had wised up and started to run away, not wanting to be her next session in anger management. As all members of the Hyuuga clan watched as she started restraining her stomping again on the way to the family bathhouse, they had realized then and there that the worst thing to ever appear in the world was an extremely angry (and likely jealous) Hinata…like mother, like daughter…

…

[Uchiha District, Fugaku's Mansion…]

Much of the Uchiha district had been lost after the massacre a while ago, and so many of the stores that were once operated only by Uchiha clan members were now sold to other villagers in order to pay off the massive debt that the funeral had incurred, as well as to rid the district of all the painful reminders that she and the twins were the last members alive in the village. It was painful for Uchiha Mikoto in a sense, but at the same time she also found that this was an opportunity for a fresh start…as she thought back on the history of the clan she realized that it was founded on lots of blood and treachery; and it all seemed to start when the founder of the clan killed his brother, the Senju founder, right after their master and father named the latter his successor. And then there were other notable examples, such as Uchiha Madara.

All her thoughts were interrupted when she heard two sets of footsteps walking into her doorway, and then into the kitchen as she was preparing dinner for three. "Hi mom," came the voice of Tsukiko, "how was your day?"

"Same as any other, how about you?"

"A new kid came to class today," began Sasuke, "and…"

"…he beat up Sasuke!" finished Tsukiko.

Mikoto's knife blade cut the celery diagonally—barely missing the knuckles on her left hand as she looked to the twins in surprise. "Who beat you up? What's his name?"

Tsukiko knew how much their mother cared for the both of them, and quickly responded, "It wasn't like that! Sasuke challenged him to a duel at the bamboo grove after school while he was meditating!" It was then that Mikoto had listened to the whole story, and started feeling Sasuke's head to find the welt before putting ice on it…taking extra special care of everything. Granted, she'd been waiting for this day when nobody would need to hide anything anymore, but as of this moment, she needed to keep this lie up. The twins stumbled upon the secret on accident and the reasons for it, and so they agreed to keep the lie in one way or another until there was a certain future for the three of them.

"Mom, you were good with a sword in your time right?"

Sasuke's ears had perked up upon hearing that, though both mother and daughter had apparently not noticed it. Mikoto on the other hand, simply had a scandalous grin on her face, knowing the reason behind the question. "Looking to impress a certain boy are you Tsukiko?"

Tsukiko had turned redder than a tomato upon hearing those words, and turned to avoid her mother's look of amusement. "D-don't be ridiculous! I just want to try my hand at fighting the new kid later…besides, I saw that smile on Sasuke's face! I'll bet he wants those lessons too!" Her response was Mikoto bringing the twin into a very loving hug. "It's okay to be interested in boys," she said, before releasing them from her grip, "if the both of you want to take up swordplay, I'll be happy to teach you. Granted I may be a bit rusty after all these years, but I can still teach you the basics of what I know…and depending upon what I see in your training, I'll help you develop your own styles."

The twins jumped in joy. "Yes! Uzumaki Naruto, watch out!" began Tsukiko, "Soon, you're not going to be the only sword-master in this village!" finished Sasuke.

As the twins ran off to their room, Mikoto's eyes had widened upon hearing the name that Tsukiko had mentioned. Naruto was back? After hearing from the celebrations that the 'demon brat' had left the village, Mikoto had gone to the Hokage personally to question him about what she'd been hearing. After hearing of the arrangement, the old man had gotten an earful from her—the reason behind this was that legally, she was to be Naruto's guardian as stated in the will left behind by Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina should anything happen to the two of them. She knew why they hadn't named Jiraya to be his guardian, and many of the clan heads tried to adopt him only to be rejected by the civilian council and the Hokage (the latter being reluctant to do so).

She let out a sigh and went back to her cooking…she'll have to see Naruto herself to make sure everything was fine with him: granted, she had a lot of time to make up with him as his legal guardian, and five years was a long time to her.

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, the next day…]

The day had started off normally—the majority of the class was noisy except for a select few. And it would seem that according to his roster, the Hokage had brought in another student into the academy. She had come on in with Naruto, but she was signed in as a Konoha citizen on the same day as her arrival. Iruka also scanned the note he had received in addition to the roster, and now knew what to expect: the girl had superhuman strength, and so extra caution needed to be exercised around her…lest one of the students dies simply because she was hugging them affectionately. He looked around the class until he found just the person he was looking for! She was sitting next to Naruto, sleeping with him under her right arm across his back and their heads right next to each other and on the table. Iruka could not help but feel the urge to say 'aw, how sweet…' to himself at this apparent sight of young love.

As he looked around the classroom even further, Iruka also noticed that many of the other kids were also looking in the couple's direction…while many of the civilian boys looked at the new student with lust in their eyes, the Uchiha twins were glaring daggers at the new girl (although it was a disturbing thought with Sasuke doing the glaring with his sister while ignoring Haruno Sakura's demands for a date, causing her to glare as well). Hinata was also glaring, and he noted that she was among the girls who wished she was in her position…Ino as well. Unbeknownst to him, Mizuki was deep in a brainstorm—oh how he was going to plan the death of the demon brat and 'save' this innocent flower from being deceived by him any further…

"Class, I have an announcement to make!"

Upon hearing this, the entire classroom had quieted down and Naruto and his companion had awakened. "Okay, as many of you are now aware, we have a new student amongst us. Please make her feel welcome! Now if you'll please come on down, we can get started with the introductions." Upon hearing that, the girl got up and started walking down the stairs, and stepped up to the podium. "Please tell us a little bit about yourself."

She was slightly blushing at being put on the spot, but she decided to power through nonetheless. "My name is Baihe Meilan, I'm from a town a far away from this village," she began, "I am a taijutsu specialist, and am pleased to make your acquaintance." Upon hearing of her name, and watching this ponytailed girl bow respectfully to them, there were murmurs amongst the students both male and female as to her identity. Among the whisperings were:

"Wait, did she just say 'Baihe'?"

"That's what I heard."

"The Baihe family…I've heard of them…didn't they get killed off?"

"I think she's the last surviving member…"

Iruka had heard of the Baihe family—they were a very powerful clan of taijutsu specialists that were said to have existed even before the time of the Rikudou Sennin. They were very well-known for infusing lightning chakra in many of their attacks, and even their novice students could take a lot of punishment from lightning-based attacks. To think that this girl came from such a clan was mind-boggling. It was then that he decided to clear his throat and regain his composure. "Thank-you Meilan, please take a seat."

The girl turned to Iruka, and bowed politely. "Yes sensei."

As she started walking up the stairs, Mizuki's brainstorm had gotten even more intense—fortunately for him, Iruka was too busy watching the girl and making sure the class didn't make any hasty moves to notice. So she's the last of the Baihe family eh? Oh the possibilities that were added to his plan! He could frame the Kyuubi brat for her murder…he could take her away to Kumo after tricking the demon into stealing that scroll for him—yeah, that would fetch a mighty high price…and if he could make a grab for the Hyuuga heiress as well, then the bonus would be too hard to resist! Then there was also the possibility that Orochimaru would want to use her as his next vessel. So many possibilities, and he need only choose one…but for now, he needed to write down his report to Lord Orochimaru on a possible vessel in addition to the Uchiha twins—no need to give him Naruto, the demon brat would probably be useless to him anyway (except maybe as a fuck-toy, given the rumors he'd heard about the Sannin).

…

[Meanwhile, Higurashi Arsenal…]

The sound that met Mikoto as she arrived at the store was the sound of a hammer striking metal as roaring fires filled the air of the store; it was the unmistakable sound of a blacksmith at work. As she looked around, she noted that the store was still lined with weapons and ninja tools of all sorts—things she would have wanted to buy were she still a ninja. However, given her retirement, and her new profession as an eye doctor specializing in people with dojutsu, Mikoto knew she didn't need these at the moment—what she was looking for was something to help train her remaining children, and the way to get that person's attention was… ah! There it was! She had just found what she was looking for: a ceramic wind chime hanging from the ceiling next to a cash register. The second she heard a lull in the 'ping, ping, ping' of the blacksmith's hammer, Mikoto took the string under the bell, and started ringing it.

"Damn it! Stupid sons of…why I ought to…oh! Mikoto, it's you."

The man that spoke had unkempt shoulder-length dark-brown hair and stubble on his chin. Even though it was clear that Higurashi Hiten was pushing forty-three, he was still a very large and muscular man…one that was still able to attract a good number of women despite his age. His family had been around Konoha for many generations, whittled down as it were due to several wars and the recent attack by Kyuubi, coming down from a proud line of samurai and bladesmiths before the world started using ninja and ninja villages—Hiten was one of the bladesmiths still operating today.

"It's good to see you again Hiten…you're looking good as usual. How are you holding up? The last time I saw you was just after Manten's…"

The look of jovial happiness that was starting to bloom on Hiten's face was immediately turned into a frown upon hearing that last word being uttered. Mikoto had just realized she had said something wrong, and was about to rectify her mistake when she heard his voice turn cold and hate-filled. "If you cherish our friendship in any way Mikoto, you will not mention that name in front of me ever again. That shit-for-brains animal was no brother of mine, and as far as I'm concerned, that fucking idiot got what he deserved. Am I clear?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that…I let it slip—it's been so long since I last saw you that I forgot. I'm sorry."

Upon hearing that apology, Hiten sighed and relaxed. It was well-known in the village that Higurashi Hiten and his brother Manten never got along after the Kyuubi attack. Suffice to say, that relationship had deteriorated even further when the latter saw Uzumaki Naruto playing with his niece Tenten and even befriending her. Hiten's hatred for his younger brother was such that after the funeral, he went out and used the very same sword he tried to murder Naruto with to carve the words 'you deserved it you fool!' on it. "That's okay. It's been a while after all, so you're not to blame. It was _**him**_, and each and every one those other fucking morons who were involved in that mob, and nobody else. So, what brings you here?"

Mikoto's spirits were lifted when she heard him bring that jovial attitude back. "I'm here for some scalpels, and training blades for kenjutsu. Can you manage it?"

The look on Hiten's face was of joy…Mikoto was doing something other than spending time on her ass all day long. Perhaps the twins came along and convinced her to teach them the fine art of swordplay. "So scalpels for work, and training blades yes? If I didn't know any better, a boy has caught one of their eyes."

"Coincidentally, a boy did catch someone's eye…I'm not sure which one has a stronger intention of pursuing him though."

"Ah yes, I remember…I was told by my wife shortly before she passed away…although I wasn't clear as to which twin was which…weren't they…?"

The glare that Mikoto had leveled at her friend to silence him. "Yes they are, but you do of course know why I won't tell anyone?"

Hiten nodded slightly. He couldn't even curse when Mikoto looked at him like that. "Anyway, back to the order: I can provide you with a couple of shinai and solid oak bokken for four-hundred mon total until I can get around to making some iaito, and the scalpels I'll throw in for 3 shu per hundred you buy."

"Fair enough," began Mikoto, as she fished out her purse, looking for the exact amount of change, "by the way, have you heard gossip from the other villagers lately?"

"Can't say that I have…much of it is the squawking of idiots anyway. What's up?"

"Nothing much, I'm pretty sure that you and Tenten will be seeing him pretty soon…according to the twins, the person they're interested in is carrying four different weapons—three of which are swords which are likely to be in need of sharpening soon."

Oh he was interested—a kid carrying four weapons? Now this was something Hiten wanted to see…and perhaps Tenten would learn a thing or two about the trade that he had taken up shortly after retiring as a ninja…

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, lunch time…]

Meilan had just run off after realizing that she had forgotten the thermos with hot water for the tea to come with the lunch that she had packed for herself and Naruto back at their apartment. They each had a box of three onigiri with salmon filling that the Ichiraku's gave to them as a welcoming gift (or at least a welcome-home gift in the case of Naruto). Figuring it was rude to eat without her he simply sat on the grass and started to meditate…trying to do the exercise that GSD had taught him to enhance his senses. So far, he'd been able to send a 5 kHz chakra pulse from himself to a distance of almost .5 km…he was hoping to extend its reach to a full kilometer before the end of the ninja academy.

His thoughts were calmed by the light breeze rushing against him…his mind was settled as he breathed in the scent of grass, and alder, and…what is this? As he tuned in his senses, his nose had picked up four different combinations of scents, his ears had picked up four different heartbeats, and lo and behold, his chakra sense had picked up four signatures around him. Three of the signatures were female, but the fourth belonged to Uchiha Sasuke—or at least two signatures that belonged to him. Ah well, perhaps it's time to call them up and see what they want…starting with the twins that were sitting in the branches of the alder tree directly behind him…maybe even investigate why fraternal twins would have exactly the same kind of scent and chakra signature…

"Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I can't smell or hear you," he said with slight annoyance in his voice, "if it's Meilan you're scared of, then you needn't have worried—she's a very loving and forgiving person, so you are free to come on out and speak with me in and out of her presence…all four of you."

The jab at all four of them had caused the four signatures to flinch as they started to come out of their hiding places. From the jasmine bush came Hyuuga Hinata with her face red from embarrassment and pressing her fingers together as she attempted to avoid using her Byakugan to get herself a peep-show of the boy of her dreams. Yamanaka Ino had a confounded look on her face as she walked out from around the corner next to Hinata. Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Tsukiko had both let themselves drop out from the tree they were sitting in, and crouched side-by-side of Naruto only to look at him with curiosity in their eyes.

"You can smell us all?" asked Tsukiko, "How is that even possible?" finished Sasuke.

"Being blind may be a downer because I can't see anything anymore, but the good thing is that I managed to sharpen all my other senses. I can pretty much tell who you are by the combination of smells that are wafting off all of you."

The look of curiosity on Ino's face was clear upon hearing those words. "Really? You can tell who we are by scent? If so then, what do I smell like?"

Naruto moved a little closer towards her, and took in a deep breath, causing Ino to blush—and began to analyze what he had just smelled. Upon reaching a conclusion, and sat back down. "I smell a literal bouquet—every flower you can name from azaleas to tulips, I can smell on you, suggesting that you spend a lot of time around flowers…probably at a flower shop. I also caught a strong scent of sour orange mixed in with some undrinkable alcohol, indicating that you've recently covered yourself in orange oil perfume…you looking to get someone's attention?"

Ino was surprised. He was dead-on. She cleared her throat, and regained her composure. "To add to your first comment: yes, I do spend a lot of time at a flower shop—my family owns it, and I help run it. As to your second question: yes, I'm looking to get someone's attention but it's none of your business as to whom."

Even the blind could tell that she was embarrassed to even admit who the lucky boy was that Ino was trying to get attention from. She had turned pink upon hearing the question. "Fair enough…now who's next?"

Hinata had brought her hand out, and put it in Naruto's—getting the message, Naruto took the hand close to his nose, and took a whiff. After a few seconds, he started to turn red from embarrassment. "Well…that's interesting…uh…it's none of my business, but I think that next time you want me to take a whiff of you, to not use a hand that you would use in private."

The other three people looked to Hinata in curiosity—it was Sasuke that asked, "What'd you smell dobe?"

"Don't get me wrong, Hinata smells divine as a whole…she has a dominant lavender smell about her, along with bath salts and medicinal herbs to aid in relaxation and in getting better. I'm guessing that her family runs a spa and a traditional medicine clinic. What I smelled on her hand however, I am not sure I want to say in public…it's too personal to say."

Now they were curious, what did he smell? Although Hinata was quick to guess what he meant, her turning red at being found out and fainting had brought their attention away from him briefly. "So, who am I smelling next?"

The twins looked to Naruto with determination in their eyes. "Oh no you don't!" said Tsukiko, "Not until you tell us all what you smelled on Hinata's hand!" finished Sasuke.

The two of them were so close that Naruto's brain went on overdrive as to why the two of them smelled so similar. And it wasn't because they were brother and sister…but then he caught a whiff of something in the air in the direction of the female twin, and then he knew! "I really don't want to say, because it's Hinata's secret—not mine. And besides, I smelled the both of you already, and I know your secret…unless you want me to tell Ino here that I suspect that one of you is…"

Sasuke was quick to understand what he was about to say…and so he reached a hand out to silence him. "Not here dobe! I get it alright?"

Ino was genuinely curious about the secret that Sasuke held back at this point. "What did you smell?"

Oh he could feel eyes on him…Naruto could feel the twins glancing at him with worry in their eyes. He knew then and there that this was a big secret. He also felt the now-revived Hinata looking at him with curiosity in her eyes rivaling that of Ino's look. "Out of respect for the twins and their newfound respect for privacy, I won't tell you what I think, but I'll tell you what I do smell. How about that?"

"You're doing the sniff test again?" asked a voice from behind the others, "You rarely do that with me anymore…although I suppose how I smell is actually a trip to paradise every day."

Everyone turned to see Meilan with an obviously heavier thermos in her hand, and a pair of paper cups. She was grinning with amusement, but they could still feel a hint of jealousy in her aura. It was Ino that started. "Out of curiosity, what does Meilan smell like Naruto?"

The answer came rather quickly—this was due to how good Naruto's memory was from smelling Meilan's presence so often. "Freshly-opened lotus blossoms in addition to the hot air from after lightning bolts hit…and a hint of water freshly-melted from ice in the mountains of Kumo and water lilies."

Meilan only grinned upon hearing the list of things she smelled of—yep, those were good things to smell…and judging by the fact that came from Naruto whose only version of beauty in a world of darkness was by his other senses. It was then that she remembered what she was going to ask. "Aw, I'm glad you like me so much Naru-kun…so, what do the twins smell like?"

Naruto had a small grin as he started to pull out the list on his head of everything he had smelled from the Uchiha twins. "They both smell strongly of cedar wood and freshly-ground cinnamon—I can smell it from the both of them as clearly as the fumes from rubbing alcohol," he began, before facing the twins, "I can't tell from how close the two of you are which of you is which, but I will say that between the two of you, I smell traces of two kinds of flowers in bloom; one of you smells like plum blossom, the other smells like peach."

The twins were astonished…this was a very deep estimation on their scents—but at least now they knew Naruto was not going to divulge their secret. "Anyway, as of this moment, I still smell salt, rice, seaweed, and salmon in the air, as well as the fact that the tea is ready…and I can pretty much hear that everyone is getting hungry, so why don't we just settle down and eat? Meilan, do you think you can be satisfied with one onigiri?"

Meilan knew exactly what he meant when he asked…he was going to swear an oath of friendship over lunch. But going by what she was seeing from everyone here, she knew that eventually that friendship would bud into the flower of love that she had for Naruto. This was another thing she cursed his lack of sight for, but she felt that it would make it so that he would appreciate all the finer details of her later on. She also knew that the damage to Naruto's heart far exceeded the pain of what had happened to her family, and so she had accepted long ago that she would not be the only girl in his life to love him. "To celebrate the beginnings of a beautiful friendship over lunch, I'm right there with you!"

The two of them distributed their onigiri among the other kids in the area—Ino looked at hers gingerly; she didn't want to impose upon the kindness of the new kid, neither did she want to insult him by not eating. Hinata on the other hand took the rice ball with care, cherishing it as if it were a gift from a dear old friend. Sasuke and Tsukiko took theirs with confidence, while Naruto and Meilan took theirs in a gesture similar to toasting. Naruto began the toasting. "I propose a toast…to our new friendship…may we hereby and henceforth be friends until the end."

Once he ate his onigiri, the others ate theirs—and the toast and the oath to forever be friends was complete!

…

[Uchiha District, after school…]

The twins' room was Spartan in appearance—a wall scroll with the kanji for 'fire' was posted on one side of the room, and the kanji for 'will' was on the opposite side. The entire floor was covered in tatami mats, and under each scroll was a small desk. After they were done with their studies, the twins were getting ready for bed.

"That actually felt good sis," said Sasuke, unrolling his futon, "to finally have someone as a friend." "Are you really sure you want him as a friend?" asked Tsukiko, doing the same, "Because I'm pretty sure I caught you blushing at the same time as I did when he said we both smelled like cedar wood and cinnamon."

"At least I know I'm not the only one who feels that way about him. But what do we do when time comes that one of us wants to marry him?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there sis. By the way, isn't it about time you let that genjutsu off Tsukiko?"

Sasuke simply frowned, and placed his hands together in the ram seal, and let out a 'kai' to release the illusion. When the steam cleared off, what was revealed was a girl that looked exactly like Tsukiko down to her bust size and body measurements. Yes…Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Tsukiko were really identical twin girls! "You know I really don't enjoy taking your place Satsuki. Those fan girls of yours are such an annoyance."

The twin known as Satsuki grinned in amusement. "At least you know how I feel when they do that. Those girls are scary!"

Tsukiko let out a chuckle. "Not to mention stupid!"

At this point, the two of them laughed, and spoke at the same time. "They throw all their efforts into trying to make a pass at a boy who is really a girl same as them!"

"All right you two it's bedtime!"

The twins looked at their mother, standing in the doorway with an amused look on her delicate features. "Sorry mom," started Satsuki, "we were just…"

"…talking about boys and fan girls. But enough talk, let's go to bed…you'll need it for when I train you after school starting tomorrow!"

The two of them cheered and hugged their mother…and the night ended when the lights went off. As Mikoto watched her daughters slip into the world of dreams, she could only laugh to herself at the irony of their predicament…she imagined the looks on their faces at the day that they would find out that Uzumaki Naruto was actually the last of not one, but two clans!

…

_**A/N: Sorry about the lack of action in this chapter, I wanted to set up for adding more potential ladies to the harem…as it stands, the other potential candidates that I have added so far are Ayame (I may consider pairing her with Iruka later), Tenten (she has a lot of potential to be in the harem due to how much work she has to do to make up for what her uncle did, and the head-start she's gotten from befriending him first), and Ino (in the long run, she could also go well with Shikamaru and Chouji). I'm still taking in challenges on your take of this story, and suggestions for additions to the harem just FYI, so please don't be afraid to comment. I'm also wondering as to the Fighter subclass I should make Meilan become in the Shippuuden arc: should I make her a Nen Master, Striker, Brawler, or Grappler? Your input would be most helpful.**_

…

_**Slayer Techniques Used:**_

_**None**_

…

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Departure" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—GSD leaving to investigate **_

"_**Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained" from "Kung-Fu Hustle"—Neji gets mauled**_

"_**Kung Fu" from "Kung-Fu Hustle"—Mikoto enters the armory**_

"_**Fisherman's Song from the East China Sea" from "Kung-Fu Hustle"—Meilan's first day**_

"_**Song of the Ancients-Devola" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier"—Lunch with the girls**_

…

_**Vocabulary:**_

"…_**some god that had to sacrifice one of his eyes for wisdom"—the god that performed this act was Odin, the king of Asgard, and the father of Thor.**_

_**Baihe Meilan—Meilan's full name…it is Mandarin for "White Lotus" (her surname, "Baihe") and "Beautiful Orchid" (her given name, "Meilan").**_

_**Shinai—a bamboo sword used for kendo practice…made up of four slats of bamboo, and used to practice sword forms.**_

_**Bokken—literally means 'wooden sword' in Japanese; this is a wooden practice sword in the shape of a katana said to be used to train one's arms for the weight of the real blade.**_

_**Iaito—an imitation katana used to practice swordsmanship; unlike the bokken or shinai, this is a metal sword.**_

_**Ancient Japanese Currency—4000 mon is worth 16 shu, 4 bu, or 1 ryo**_

_**Onigiri—the infamous Japanese rice ball, usually filled with a salty filling and wrapped in seaweed; it's eaten somewhat like a sandwich.**_


	4. Naruto Vs Sasuke, part 2

_**A/N: And so I receive my first flaming/trolling of this story…ladies and gentlemen, please forgive me in advance for all the cursing to follow. To john, the anonymous troll, I say this: HOW THE FUCK DARE YOU, YOU UNEDUCATED, ILLITERATE, IGNORANT, COWARDLY, INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT? WHO THE FUCK DIED AND MADE YOU KING OF THE FUCKING WORLD TO ADVISE ME TO QUIT MY STORY ALTOGETHER? YOU GOT A FUCKING PROBLEM WITH HOW I WRITE, THEN HAVE THE GOD-DAMN DECENCY TO BE A MAN ABOUT IT AND TELL ME WITH YOUR OWN ACCOUNT YOU SPINELESS, CHICKEN-SHIT, ASSHOLE! IF YOU HAVE NOTHING CONSTRUCTIVE TO SAY, THEN DO THE SMART THING AND DON'T READ IT IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU FUCK-FACED MORON, BEFORE I HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FUCKING CORNISH GAME HEN! AM I CLEAR? To all other readers, I say 'please ignore my rant at the words of the cowardly troll and do read and review, would you kindly?'**_

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, the next week…]

"…And that's how you do it," finished Iruka, "simple isn't it?" The teacher had been going over the finer points of sealing with Naruto—granted, he had taught the blind boy some of the basics yesterday, but to see him working at it like he was simply made him proud. He watched as Naruto placed a kunai into the scroll by placing enough chakra into it. Naruto on the other hand was overjoyed that he no longer needed to heft his weapons everywhere he went—he could just seal them all away into a small scroll and then mount them back on their respective holsters when he needs them. He immediately applied his lessons to each of his weapons on the same scroll.

As he watched Naruto's progress, Iruka had seen that many of the teachers had deliberately punished him for giving out the right answers and even giving him exams too soon. At that, he was very disappointed—they were letting their own prejudices blind them! And they had given all the good grades to Sasuke and Tsukiko, making them both the Rookie of the Year in their respective categories on the written portion of the lessons…to his surprise however, neither of the twins were celebrating the fact that they were named top student and that Naruto was the Dead-Last. It was as if they knew that they only had a lot of people kissing their asses—granted, Tsukiko was more resistant to the flattery from the very beginning, but Sasuke was the real surprise as he would have enjoyed rubbing it in other people's faces that he was the best. What changed?

Before he could think anymore on the subject, he noted that the twins had gathered closer towards Meilan and Naruto…and surprisingly Ino and Hinata had joined in. It was as if they had done something with Naruto that made them closer to him. That was good in his eyes…although what Sasuke was doing seemed to be good material in yaoi novels, it was very disturbing in his eyes; but at the same time, it was still a welcome improvement from the Sasuke of before. All was going well until…

"HEY NARUTO-BAKA! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH SASUKE-KUN? HE DOESN'T NEED TO DEAL WITH A HOMO LIKE YOU!"

Oh great…it was that time again. All the die-hard loyalists in the Sasuke fan-club were there glaring at Naruto…the boy was not disturbed by the fact that Haruno Sakura had been screaming that line, except to try and massage his ears. "Would you be so kind as to keep your voice down Haruno? I'm pretty sure they could hear that ugly voice of yours over in Iwa."

Sakura's first reaction was to imitate a fish out of water, before she regained her senses and her rage, and started again—with a quieter voice. "You're just jealous that Sasuke-kun is a much better choice then you baka! Nobody likes you! And I'll even bet that your win was a stroke of luck!"

"Lay off him Whore-uno!" said Tsukiko, hearing enough from this witch, "You've been putting him down over nothing from the day he came through these doors, and you still come out as one of the worst students Iruka has ever taught…the only reason you got here in the first place is because you memorized everything from the textbooks, and stored them in that abominably large forehead of yours!"

Oh she was not going to take that now! Sakura worked up the courage, and started puffing her chest up. "And what are you going to do about it Uchiha?"

The evil look in Tsukiko's face was enough to discourage most from pushing her any further—this was because between the Uchiha twins, Tsukiko was definitely faster and a little more devious, thus making her prone to prank people that really made her mad…and it was all thanks to an incident where all the Uchiha men were accused of being gay. "Taijutsu spars are coming up Haruno, so how about I teach you the meaning of humility there?"

The pink-haired banshee simply grinned. She was confident that she'll prove to Sasuke that this girl was someone to disown from the family! In fact, as soon as she gets married into the Uchiha clan, she'll see to it that Uchiha Tsukiko is no longer mentioned in the family! "You're on bitch!"

As if on cue, Iruka had spoken up, due to how correct Tsukiko was—it was that time after all. "Alright class, meet us in the training field for the taijutsu session!" Once done however, the entire class started trudging away to the training field…but as soon as Tsukiko and Sakura made it to the door, they glared at each other with fire in their eyes. Oh this was going to be good!

…

[Training field…Girl's match…five minutes later…]

"Okay class, here's the rules," began Iruka, "you will be sparring in a one-on-one match with each other. This will be an elimination match—unlike the theoretical part of your studies, this will determine your place overall in the physical side of things. Part of your grade will be determined by that obstacle course we made you run all of last week and our lessons on the basic taijutsu forms—from this point on, your scores in your taijutsu spars will also determine your standing. There will be no weapons, and no jutsu—just your fists, legs, and whatever taijutsu style you know. First one to be knocked down or out of the ring loses—any questions? No? Good, now that everything's settled, let's get started…for the girl's match, our first match will be Baihe Meilan and Ginei Ritsu."

The entire class watched as Meilan and a civilian girl stood at opposite ends of the fighting arena, and stared each other down. The second that Iruka said 'hajime!' the civilian girl started the match by charging at Meilan with her fist cocked and ready for a heavy punch only to be held in place at arm's length by Meilan placing her index finger on her forehead as she continuously tried to get closer to the other girl…even swinging wildly at the last Baihe's arm to no avail. As her opponent struggled to land a hit, Meilan had a bored and un-amused look on her face at how pathetic her opponent was—this was no doubt a Sasuke fan-girl who did not take her training seriously much like 'Whore-uno' judging by how little force she was using to hold her back, and was not worth her time. Upon realizing her disappointment, Meilan quickly stepped aside and released her finger, causing Ginei Ritsu (who was still pushing forward) to fall flat on her face! "Winner: Baihe Meilan! Next up, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Tsukiko!"

Everyone watched as Meilan walked up to the stands—the boys on the other hand, could not take their eyes off her habit of shaking her hips as she walked up the bleachers to sit next to Naruto. Even the normally unemotional Shino had to admit that were it not for the fact that this girl had superhuman strength that would probably rival that of Senju Tsunade, that ass was something even _**he**_ wouldn't resist the urge to tap! They also watched as Tsukiko walked down the bleachers, turning more heads than she would have liked—none of the boys really noticed Sakura as she walked into the ring…as they looked at her, all they saw was a pink-haired banshee; nothing like the sophisticated-yet-mischievous nature that was seen in Tsukiko.

The two girls stared each other down…waiting for the word. Sakura was cracking her knuckles, getting ready to lay the greatest beat-down upon her enemy. Tsukiko stood there with her arms crossed, waiting for her pathetic opponent to make the first move. Upon hearing the word 'hajime' leave Iruka's mouth, Tsukiko disappeared, leaving one Haruno Sakura wondering where she went—that is, until she felt two hands groping her from behind, causing her to blush from both embarrassment and rage as she watched noses starting to bleed. "Just as I thought—you've got nothing but mosquito bites!" she heard from behind her, causing all the boys to laugh, "No wonder the boys won't ever look at you! If you can't even turn a single head from any of the other boys, how can you hope to get Sasuke's attention?" Taking advantage of her rage-induced counterattack, Tsukiko released her hold and dodged under Sakura's heavy left hook, jabbed her in the stomach to stun and knock her back slightly, and then finishing off with a side kick to her 'mosquito bites' in order to knock her down and out of the ring. With that, Haruno Sakura was easily humiliated and beaten. "Winner! Uchiha Tsukiko!"

The next fights were too easy…Ino had finished her opponent off quickly by using her opponent's arm as leverage to flip her over, Hinata had hit her opponent with a Jyuuken strike in a chakra point in her forehead that caused her to fall asleep, and all the other girls had wound up with double-knockouts. "Since we're pressed for time, we're going to pit the four winners in a five-minute free-for-all match. The last one standing in the ring will be Rookie of the Year for the girl's side. The fighters will be Baihe Meilan, Uchiha Tsukiko, Yamanaka Ino, and Hyuuga Hinata…will the four of you please step into the arena?"

Coming down from the bleachers were four of the apparent members of the Naruto fan-club. Each one took a corner, and took a light stance so as to conserve their energy for the fight to come. Tensions were building as each of them started looking to each other with nervousness in their eyes as to which opponent was the biggest threat—Ino, while being the weakest member of the group was still a good deal better than Sakura given that she had a tactical advantage from learning to adapt to her situation thanks to lessons from Shikamaru; Tsukiko had a tendency to fight dirty while applying a good amount of speed to the Intercepting Fist style of the Uchiha in conjunction with her devious mindset, making her the tricky opponent; Meilan had super-strength on her side, in addition to her ballerina's grace and stamina making her by far one of the tougher opponents even if she was barely faster than Ino; and Hinata was apparently the fastest opponent due to the fact that her Jyuuken required strikes at the opponent's vital chakra points. The tension had been built until the word 'hajime!' was drifting in the air!

The fight quickly began when Ino began to attack Meilan with a sweep kick in an attempt to trip her over—followed by Tsukiko who took advantage of Ino's distraction to land a jump kick on her opponent. Meilan had but a moment to block, but she knew their plan instantly—the two of them knew that she would be a bigger threat than Hinata, and chose to go after her first. Smart move as a matter of fact, and it posed quite a bit of a challenge. When she realized that Tsukiko was behind her and poised to strike from behind, it was too late! Until Hinata used a palm strike to deflect the attack from the Uchiha twin, and a second palm strike to her opponent's face. With the two of them back to back with each other and glancing momentarily in each other's eyes before facing their opponents again—Hinata against Tsukiko, and Ino against Meilan. As the two of them looked in each others' eyes at that brief moment, they understood that the only way out of this was to combine their strengths and take out one opponent at a time…but they remembered that this was a four-way free-for-all, and so the two of them would be fair game as soon as their opponents were down. Once the silent agreement was made, Hinata began the attack by striking at Tsukiko with such speed that the other girl was barely keeping up…Ino on the other hand had lost her support from her temporary partner, and was forced on the defensive—however, she did not waste her time simply by dodging, and was using every opportunity to try and land a punch or even a roundhouse kick.

Tsukiko was not having a good time…Hinata was pushing her back and to her limits, and inching her closer to the edge of the ring. Her Hyuuga Jyuuken style was very good at disabling people with a single poke, and so the slightest mistake and she winds up looking foolish in front of Naruto…well sounding foolish anyway given his lack of sight. This was compounded by the fact that Hinata was apparently able to match her speed step-by-step and blow-for-blow. She needed to find a way to end this now so that Naruto-kun would see how superior she was to the other girls that had fallen for him over the past week…well, except for Satsuki-chan whom she saw as an equal worthy enough to share a boy with. The point was that she wanted to prove that the two of them were worthy of being the dominant women in his life should a harem be agreed upon by the two of them.

As she continued on the defensive, she eventually saw the Hyuuga girl slowing down by a bit…and just in time too, because now it was her turn to be on the offensive! Once she saw that Hinata stopped to catch her breath, Tsukiko started to begin her counterattack with a dodged punch before she herself sidestepped a right hook and finishing off Hinata simply by pushing her gently from behind as she passed out from exhaustion. She then turned her attention to her last opponent…as Meilan had finally finished off Ino with a palm strike that knocked back the latter, and throwing her off-balance to the point that she fell on her back. The two girls faced each other with looks of fire in their eyes as they started to catch their breath…and then they charged! Before the two of them could land a single blow, the bell rang…no doubt because the time was up! Now the two of them looked foolish, because they were just one second away from starting their fight.

"All right girls, the match is over! Now we're getting the boy's match. Boys? The same rules will apply…and for our first matchup, will Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba, please come down from the stands?" Upon hearing that, the two boys stood up and started walking down to the ring where Iruka stood in the middle—Naruto had a look of noncommittal on his face, while Kiba looked very confident. He had a knowing look on his face at the two of them. "All right then, I'm sure you boys know the rules, but first Naruto, would you be so kind as to hand over your storage scroll? I'm pretty sure you're good at using any one of your weapons, but what if you find yourself without something you can use as a weapon? Same goes to you Kiba, what if you find yourself without Akamaru aiding you? I'll make sure nothing happens to your weapons, or to Akamaru."

Naruto was reluctant to part with his weapons in any fight, but handed him the scroll anyway. Kiba on the other hand kept that confident look on his face as he reassured his white-furred puppy that this would be an easy win before handing him over to Iruka; Akamaru on the other hand was shivering in concern for Kiba, due to the fact that Naruto seemed to have the scent of an alpha male that made all other alpha males look like omega males—the scent of a prime alpha.

After handing Iruka their weapons, Naruto and Kiba stared each other down. "You ready for a beat-down, you sightless freak?" taunted Kiba, grinning beatifically, "By the end of the day, Hinata-chan will see that I am the superior male specimen…and you're likely to lose all the other girls in your fan-club! Hell, I'll bet that you'll only be left with Sasu-gay!" Upon hearing this, Ino, Meilan, Tsukiko, and Hinata all glared at Kiba's attempt to get Naruto to lose his temper. Sasuke however, simply had a look of triumph on his face—it doesn't matter, he wasn't even a boy to begin with! "Oh I'm more than ready for you," began Naruto, unfazed by the jab at him due to looking like he was about to puke, "it's just that before we begin, I have a question for you: just who the hell did you piss off in order to get pissed on?"

Kiba had a look of embarrassment on his face, coupled with rage. "What did you say?"

"You heard me; just who did you piss off in order to get pissed on? Because in addition to the scent of dogs and dog food that I smell on you, I also smell the urine of at least three dogs—and not from passing by an area where the dogs just pissed, the scent I'm talking about is so strong that it's obvious that they pissed _**on**_ you…I'm guessing that they did it just two days ago right after you pissed someone off."

The indignant look had only increased Kiba's anger as everyone started laughing at him. "You have no business asking that baka!" he yelled, as he charged Naruto with his left arm winding up for a very heavy straight punch. Naruto simply stood there and waited for the right moment. Once Kiba was in the middle of his punch, Naruto ducked while turning, and used the momentum of the turn as he was getting up to land a heavy palm strike to Kiba's jaw, sending the other boy close to the edge of the ring. Luckily for Kiba, he landed on his hands and knees…although his situation was real bad—now his opponent was running after him and he was disoriented. The second Naruto got near Kiba, the other boy barely dodged a soccer-style kick before he took advantage of Naruto's lack of balance to try and trip him with a sweep kick. Naruto could not react in time to dodge the kick, but instead he shifted his weight in midair to land momentarily on the palm of his hand, and then back on his feet in a somersault before being tackled by a charging Kiba and using the momentum of the tackle to throw the other boy out of the ring before he rolled back up. Kiba on the other hand, landed with his back on the ground, and out of the ring. "Winner of this match is Uzumaki Naruto!"

The boys looked at Naruto with envy—the Dead-Last was walking up the stands and sitting among them. And what's more, he beat down one of the runner-ups for the title of Rookie of the Year for the boys. "Troublesome," said Shikamaru to himself, "but overall, I think he would in fact rely on fighting dirty…given that he was stripped of his weapons. Not bad, Naruto…although I wonder if you're any good at shogi too…" Before he could add anymore food for thought, Iruka called out the next names to fight. "Will Nara Shikamaru and Retsu Akio, please step onto the ring?"

After that, the next few fights were dull and boring…Shikamaru beat his opponent down with relative ease, Shino didn't stand too much of a chance against Sasuke after being beaten down with punches packed with more power and speed than he could handle (although he did manage to get in a couple of hits), and Choji accidentally using Nikudan Sensha to roll out of the ring while trying to flatten his opponent. After that, several of the other boys had double-knockouts. When it came to the semifinals, Shikamaru immediately chose to surrender…saying it was 'too troublesome' to fight Sasuke, while Naruto simply beat his opponent down by taunting him, tripping him up and putting his foot on his neck in a threatening manner in order to secure his victory. Naruto didn't bother leaving the ring—he knew that Iruka would call Sasuke down to fight him after all. He simply listened as the footsteps walked on down to the rubber-lined arena floor with the usual air of arrogance about him…assuming of course that Sasuke actually _**was**_ a 'he'.

"You ready to fight dobe?" said Sasuke, the confidence in his voice, "Last time you beat me, I'll admit that you're better with weapons than I am…but how would you fare against me without them?"

"I'm pretty sure you'll be beaten without them all the same," said Naruto, getting into the cat stance, "although I'm wondering as to the true purpose of your 'weapons'."

Sasuke almost lost his temper, until immediately knew what he was thinking—all this time, his opponent had been relying on taunting his opponents to make them screw up. Not going to work now. "Nice try dobe, but I already know your moves. And it's not going to work on me!"

Upon hearing the word 'hajime!' from Iruka, Sasuke immediately charged Naruto—the second he did, he felt something surging outwards. It was not anything he'd ever felt before, and it was brief…he just didn't know what it was. It was then that he started throwing punches and kicks that he started noticing something—Naruto was dodging all of his attacks, and ducking under several of them…it was like fighting a god-damn ghost! When Naruto noted that there was a lull in his opponent's strikes, he began his counterattack by ducking under Sasuke's next punch and sending a right straight into his opponent's solar plexus. Sasuke recovered and tried to take down his opponent with an axe kick only to watch as Naruto dodged the kick with a single roll, and trip him up successfully, forcing Sasuke to somersault backwards once.

As the fight progressed, all the girls in the Sasuke fan-club were yelling at the cheap shots Naruto had been making, while all the girls in the Naruto fan-club were calling the Sasuke fan-girls stupid idiots…this was mostly coming from the four girls that seemed to have founded the fan-club. The fight progressed, revealing that the two fighters were actually fighting on even ground. Hinata however, had been watching the fight with a scrutinizing gaze the very second she had felt that pulse of chakra—the second she felt it, she performed her Byakugan, and observed the fight. As she studied, she noted that Naruto was outputting more chakra than Sasuke was, and that the chakra was filling up the arena. Throughout all of Naruto's fights, she had never seen him unleash that chakra before…and then she had an idea as to why that was!

Meanwhile, Sasuke was fighting hard against his opponent, barely even landing a hit as Naruto was moving rather quickly, as if he were able to predict his next move. As he puzzled on that, Sasuke began to think—how could the dobe be this fast? It was impossible for a blind kid to be able to have these kinds of reflexes…was he lying about being blind? And what about that pulse he felt earlier? Up until now, Sasuke had never felt that chakra so why is it…aha! Now he saw through his trick! Sasuke paused as soon as he got a good distance away from his opponent; Naruto did the same, noticing that Sasuke had something to say. As soon as he caught his breath, Sasuke began to chuckle. "I think I now know why you're dodging me so well," he began, his chuckle a mix of both realization and excitement, "I was wondering about that chakra I felt earlier! It was faint, but my body is trained to be sensitive to even the tiniest chakra spike…unlike civilian students and ninja who are not as sensitive to these things. Up until now, I was baffled as to why you never released any chakra on your previous fights—and then I realized that the reason you taunted your opponents was not simply to blind them with their own rage and make them stupid, but to make their heartbeats so fast and loud that you could practically hear them moving before they even realize that they're making those movements! And then when you found out that taunting wouldn't work on me, you had to resort to using a trick that would enable you to see and predict my next movements…and that trick was to send out high-frequency chakra pulses all around you so that you can receive the pulses that come back to you like a bat using echolocation to find prey. Very ingenious I'll admit."

…

[Nearby the Academy Training Grounds…]

Kurenai had been watching the fight between the male Uchiha twin and the new kid on the block since the latter advanced to this stage of the tournament. Earlier, she had been out to buy some dango and tea for Anko…lord knows the poor dear needs it—she drinks sake like water! How she hasn't come out of her drinking binges with a blood alcohol content of .08% by now, she'll never know. It's also a surprise to her that Anko has not died of a massive hangover—and that she has not been raped while inebriated (although her reputation may have contributed to the safety of her virginity).

As she was going home from visiting Anko, she was passing by the academy when she heard the sound of fighting—Iruka was likely getting the students through some sparring sessions. Well, since she's passing by, she may as well do some early scouting for her team. As she peered through the bushes into the training ground, she watched as the new kid…Uzumaki was it? Anyway, she watched as Uzumaki beat his opponent with relative ease after taunting the living daylights out of the poor boy…this was impressive, given that Uzumaki was blind as she heard. When the fight began between Uchiha and Uzumaki, she too felt that pulse of chakra, and when she heard the Uchiha's revelation about the use of that chakra pulse, she knew that she had found an option for her team! As she looked about the arena, she noted that many of the girls were cheering for Sasuke to be the winner by default, and for Naruto to be disqualified for his use of chakra in the match. Those idiots…blindly following the Uchiha boy without considering the skills of Uzumaki. True, the latter was mostly a dirty fighter; but in the ninja world, a dirty fighter was often a smart fighter, and smart fighters (while relatively rare) tend to survive better than strong ones…even rarer was the fighter who was both strong and smart.

…

[Back at the Training Grounds…]

"NARUTO-BAKA USED CHAKRA—HE CHEATED! DISQUALIFY HIM NOW!"

Sasuke faced Iruka, and had a bit of an inquiring look on his face. "Hey, sensei, as long as he's not using his chakra to attack, can Naruto still fight?"

Iruka had a contemplative look on his face…technically, Naruto wasn't using his chakra to attack, but then again he said 'no jutsu'. He then sighed and nodded to Sasuke to say that the match was legal.

Many of the girls were in shock at this move, and Sakura, being the one most vocal about it, let their grievances out. "But Iruka-sensei…"

"Now, now Sakura, I believe said 'no jutsu'…I most certainly don't remember saying 'no chakra'. In other words, you were all free to use chakra so long as it wasn't a jutsu. Sasuke, Naruto, you may continue the match!"

"So you found out about my chakra sense, very impressive Uchiha," began Naruto, getting back into his stance, "but you still haven't been able to find a way to fool it yet."

Sasuke simply grinned. "Quite the contrary, I think I've found a way to level the playing field. I may not be able to win against your senses, but at least I can make sure that I take you down with me!" With that said, Sasuke charged in and began his assault—as predicted, Naruto's position was near the edge, forcing him to catch the first punch that was landed…before long, Naruto's senses picked up another blow coming from the opposite side, causing him to reflexively catch the right hook aimed at his head. As he was holding on, he began to hear a very feminine and very lecherous voice in his head whispering, "Oh yes! I feel it! I can't take it anymore! Take her Kit! Take her now! Rip her clothes off and take her virginity in a manly fashion now! Who cares that the other students are watching? Take her like the man I know you are, and she is pretending to be! Make her yours…so that by extension, she'll also be mine!"

As he shook off the distraction he was hearing in his head, Naruto felt something was wrong with the picture—as he noted that Sasuke had a mischievous grin on his face while he snuck his right leg between his legs, and tripped the both of them up. There was no other option for victory…the closest he could get was a draw! And so Naruto fell on his back with Sasuke's hands still gripped in his, causing the two of them to fall over—and before the two of them hit the ground, Naruto released Sasuke's hands and spread out his arms so that his hands landed on the arena floor…unfortunately, this also landed the two of them in a very awkward position, to which Naruto blushed.

Back on the stands, Meilan and Ino, and the other girls had bloody noses at the idea of a yaoi position being implemented…and even Sakura's brain was too fried from the apparently hot scene in front of her eyes. Hinata and Tsukiko both had looks of envy and fury in their eyes—they wanted Sasuke to be closer to Naruto, but not _**this**_ close! The boys on the other hand, save for Shino and Shikamaru, had begun to laugh at their situation although some of them were sickened by the idea. In the arena however, Iruka and Mizuki however, felt sick—they did not want to encourage homosexuality this early in the kids' lives! Well not Iruka, but Mizuki saw definite potential for the Uzumaki brat to be Orochimaru's fuck-toy, and nothing more.

Naruto on the other hand, knowing the secret of the Uchiha twins, was very embarrassed at the situation he found himself in…because even though the genjutsu hid the Uchiha's gender from the naked eye, he could still feel her breasts against his chest. Let it be known, that Uzumaki Naruto was not gay, nor was he a pervert to the extreme, but he could tell that Uchiha Sasuke's bust was nicely-sized for her age; not too big, and not too small, and very firm. He also noted that her head was right next to his. "Meet us at the front of the Academy after school," whispered Sasuke in his ear, using her real voice (which was very eerily similar to Tsukiko's), "our mom wants to meet you."

Iruka simply helped the two students up, and checked to make sure neither were hurt. "Since the two of them have had a body part land outside the arena, I shall call this match a draw. Class dismissed!"

_**…**_

_**A/N: Now we just have a bit of action and some sexual references. And to reiterate to anyone reading this, if you have a legitimate reason to flame my story, I will discuss it with you using your account—I do not, repeat, **__**DO NOT**__** have patience for trolling whether you have an account or not. If you have a problem, then the decency to discuss it with me using your own account…don't waste my time and yours by doing the stupid thing and flaming me over such details as Naruto being blind (which is the point of this story).**_

_**…**_

_**Fighter Techniques Used:**_

_**Taunt—Brawler**_

_**Muse's Uppercut—Striker**_

_**…**_

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Samurai Struck" by The Surf Coasters from "Musashiden II"—Sasuke vs. Naruto II**_

_**…**_

_**Vocabulary:**_

_**Blood Alcohol Content—this is how much alcohol you've got concentrated in your blood. In Japan it is illegal to be caught driving with a BAC larger than .03%, while that limit is .08% in the US.**_


	5. Reunions and Reflections

**_A/N: I received a review stating that people are not sure as to what I'm crossing Naruto over with…and it seems to my embarrassment that I forgot to put it in the description. The reason I put this in a regular fiction instead of a crossover is because people tend to ignore stories from the "Dungeon Fighter Online" world (being an MMO Beat-em up RPG and all). However, I seem to be getting a good number of reviews now, and I thank all the reviewers that have been reading this. As to who Meilan and GSD are, I have added their classes in the Vocabulary. Other than that, read and review, would you kindly?_**

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, 2:30 PM…]

"Do you really think those two will be here?" asked Meilan with a pout on her face, waiting with Naruto in her arms, "They'll be here," he said, "in fact, they should be here right about…now!"

"I didn't know that you were bringing a guest Naruto-kun…" said Tsukiko, from behind the duo, "…although I suppose we didn't say that you couldn't bring one either dobe…" finished Sasuke, his up-front arrogance back in his voice, before the two of them finished together at the same time, "…but either way, our mom would like to meet the person that's been with you for the time you were out of the village."

Naruto had been curious…who was the twins' mother that they were talking about? "I'm glad to finally meet your mom, but I don't think I know her."

This time it was Sasuke that started the sentence. "You may not know her, but she definitely knows you…"

"…we don't know how, but we suppose she knows you enough to call for you by name."

Now Meilan was interested. What was it that the twins' mother wanted with Naruto? Even more curious was how she knew the apple of her eye by name. Was she like the other bigots in this hellhole of a village glaring at the two of them as they passed by? Nah, she probably wasn't like that…but still, she couldn't let her guard down—not when she didn't know this woman, and especially not since she noticed that several of the boys were looking at her with lecherous grins on their eyes…and even though she could take them all on, Meilan knew it was only a matter of time before she had to deal with outright rape attempts. She simply grabbed Naruto gently by the hand, and started following the twins…her guard continuously up.

…

[Fugaku's Mansion, Uchiha District, 3:45 PM…]

The mansion of Uchiha Fugaku was a place of lavish splendor—and a place of tragedy. Five years ago, the night before the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Itachi had murdered his own clan, leaving his mother and twin siblings alive. Nobody knew what happened—Uchiha Itachi was known to be a level-headed ninja in addition to his talent…why he would do such a thing had baffled even the Yamanaka clan. It was here that Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Tsukiko had come home to see their father dead, and their mother about to be slain. It wasn't clear what happened, but what is known is that afterwards, the twins were thrust into the duty of reviving the clan while Mikoto served as substitute head of the clan until Sasuke was of age to take command. Now however, Fugaku's mansion had been converted into a clinic for optometry and ophthalmology…and in the clinic, Mikoto was at work with a patient.

"Well then Sonozaki-san," began Mikoto, writing up her clinical charts for the patient, "the surgery's done and I've made sure to cut cleanly…but for now, keep this blindfold on and come back to me in a couple of months so that I can check up on your recovery."

"Thanks doc," said the patient, "I'll be seeing you in two months then."

As the last patient started to vacate the premises, Mikoto began to close down the clinic…she was open up until around this time. As she started closing shop, she heard the sounds of four footsteps entering the grounds followed by a unified "Mom, we're home!". Mikoto turned to see the visitors. Before her were the twins—but behind them was a little girl with a bun in her hair, and a very familiar sight she never thought she'd see again. "Welcome home kids!" she said with a welcoming smile on her face, "And who is this newcomer?"

"Mom, meet our new classmates, Uzumaki Naruto and Baihe Meilan."

She had appraised the girl Meilan with a look of interest. So this beautiful little girl was the last of the Baihe family…yes, she was such a pure specimen. Her real interest was for Uzumaki Naruto—my, he had grown in five years! The only additions she noticed on him aside from his change of clothing were the red arm that was carrying a chain seal, and the fact that he was wearing a blindfold. She turned to Meilan, and greeted her with a warm smile. "So you're the girl I've heard so much about from the twins," she began, "you're even prettier than I thought."

Meilan simply turned red from embarrassment at the compliment. "Oh…no, I'm not pretty—I've a long ways to go before I can even deserve being called that."

Mikoto chuckled—the humble ones were always the more fun to tease. "You don't give yourself enough credit…if I didn't know any better I'd say you'd be a rival in a beauty contest with Tsukiko." Tsukiko heard the jib at her, and simply blushed. "Mom!"

"All joking aside though, why don't you and Sasuke take Meilan with you on a tour of the mansion? I'm pretty sure you kids will have much to talk about afterwards." Upon hearing that, Tsukiko and Sasuke simply nodded in acknowledgement and took Meilan by the hand, leaving Mikoto alone with Naruto. She simply sighed…so long had she wanted to bring Naruto here, and away from the torment of his life prior to his training trip. So many things had gotten in the way…but given what happened in the past, she knew she had to take him in slowly. It was already bad enough she failed him and his parents, she did not want to make things worse by revealing to him what was done behind his back. "Naruto, if you'll just follow me, I'd like to do a checkup on your eyes."

"Sure thing ma'am, but I don't think I can pay you…"

"No worries, I do checkups for free," she said quickly cutting him off with a very motherly tone, "so you can just relax your sunny little head."

Naruto wasn't sure, but he was sure he'd heard that voice before…but it was so long that he doesn't exactly remember…that said, he was led by the hand to a chair. "Now, I'm going to need your blindfold off for us to start."

"Sure thing." There was nothing to it…just a checkup, and that would be all…he'll contemplate the familiarity of that voice he heard from Mrs. Uchiha. Mikoto on the other hand, watched as Naruto untied the back of his blindfold, and opened his eyes—what she saw had brought pain to her heart. As she inspected the eye, she remembered that the Naruto she knew had the cerulean blue eyes of his father, and the glittering of his mother—these eyes were frosted over with cataracts. But even under that fog in his eyes, she could still see his parents in him.

"Hmm…chakra damage to your eyes has caused cataracts in them," she began, continuing to investigate further, "this is common in people with dojutsu. How did you lose your sight?"

"I lost it while learning a technique from my sensei," he began, "he taught me a technique, and then I accidentally learned another one through it. After that, my world started going dark."

"The price of the gods."

"Yes, how did you know?"

Mikoto simply sighed. "When Uchiha get to a certain part of their lives, normally at the peak of their power, their Sharingan changes to become more powerful…however, this comes at a price as they keep using the special variation the Sharingan more. The Uchiha that keep using this special variation of the Sharingan eventually go blind…how that's possible, I'm not sure, but legends say that this is a price of the gods for attaining power."

It was then that Naruto grinned, and started speaking quietly. "You're very insightful…and I can definitely see that your daughters have inherited more than just your smell of cedar wood."

She turned and looked at Naruto with surprise in her eyes. Naruto knew? Before she could deny anything, Naruto continued in his quiet voice. "I'll admit, the genjutsu was able to fool my ears and (to an extent) my chakra sense, but it couldn't really fool my nose. For you see, while a man may very well have same scent combination as his twin sister, the difference is in the intensity—the scent of a man often hits my nose like a bear mauling a tiger, while women tend to have a much gentler edge to their scent combinations…and both Sasuke and Tsukiko had really soft scents. The only question I have for you now, if you don't mind me asking, is why the deception?"

Now she was impressed, Mikoto knew that because he was blind, Naruto compensated for it with his other senses. To know that even his nose was that powerful really spoke volumes of his perception to her. She knew that she had a secret to keep…but at the same time, it was kind of useless to keep the secret in front of someone that already figured it out. She let out a sigh…whether out of frustration at the fact that they had been found out, or the fact that Naruto just pressed the issue a bit, she didn't know. She checked around to make sure nobody was around before she activated a high-level privacy seal on the door. "By Uchiha Law, the only time when women can take any sort of power in the clan is when there are too few clan members and the heir is too young to take up the position of clan head…the only problem is that the heir has to be a boy. If there is no male heir, then the female heirs of the clan have to produce a male heir by the age of seventeen or face disownment. The civilian council has left my daughters alone because of this law and the genjutsu that my husband had placed—if they find out the true identity of my girls, then I fear for their safety…the Ninja Academy is yet another buffer, but if they are discovered to be girls, then they could still be kidnapped for sinister purposes whether or not they are students of the academy. The only time I can think of that they'll be safer is when they are at least genin-level ninja—but even then, I'll fear for their safety because they are still my little girls."

Now Naruto understood…he had seen firsthand the corruption of the civilian council due to the fact that he taken his fair share of beatings, but he was not sure how the twins would handle possibly worst fate to ever befall him—and that would be rape attempts. As he contemplated his options, he knew what his answer was. "Your secret is safe with me…but out of curiosity, what is Sasuke's real name?"

Mikoto looked at the boy with relief in her eyes. Even though his eyes were frosted over, she could tell he meant it. "Her name is Satsuki."

Before she could continue hugging Naruto, the metal chime at the front door of the mansion sounded off. "Now who could that be?" As she contemplated on the identity of her visitor, she turned back to Naruto. "How about I take you to the dining area? I've just boiled a pot of tea."

As he stood up, Naruto started putting his blindfold back on. "That'll be nice…although shouldn't we wait for the others to be at the table?"

"Good idea…I'll see if I can get those two to bring your friend over…"

…

[Fugaku's Mansion, front gate…five minutes later…]

Higurashi Tenten had just arrived at the front door of the Uchiha Mansion. She knew that during her career as a ninja, Uchiha Mikoto was a frequent customer of her family's arsenal, so it was no wonder she made friends with her father…even though her new career was as an eye doctor, and that all of her scalpels are special-ordered from Higurashi Arsenal, that did not seem to diminish the friendship she still had with Hiten. Although it was a bit of a surprise that she had ordered weapons for once…sure, they were iaito, but still…

Before she could think anymore on that, or even ring the chime again, she saw the gate open, and one woman standing in the doorway. "Ah! Tenten! Good to see you. I trust you are well?"

As she studied Uchiha Mikoto, Tenten noted that this was a very beautiful woman. Midnight black hair that matched her coal-colored eyes, a fine hourglass-shaped figure that recovered well after giving birth to twins, pale skin, D-sized breasts…why this woman has not remarried by now, she'll never know. But either way, she has some business to take care of. "I'm fine Uchiha-sama," she said, "I trust your day has been as productive as mine? Anyway, I've brought your order for two iaito…dad told me to tell you he was sorry for the delay—he's had to argue with quite a few ninja accusing him of selling them defective weapons. The nerve of them! Our weapons work fine!"

"Well, we can talk about it later. I seem to have left my purse in the den…why don't you have a walk around the mansion? Don't worry about finding me—I'll find you."

…

[Dining area…]

Naruto walked around in the dining area—feeling around, he had found the dining table, the cushions for the family to sit on, and several other things. The room itself was the traditional-style room, if the tatami mats covering the floor were any indication. As his touch began to find its way to the walls, he found that it was not an overly large room—not too small as to be inhospitable to guests, but not too large for a small family either.

His hands continued to wander around until they found a door with a knob…and a small one to boot. What could be behind it? Once he turned the knob, his hands had started ruffling around in the closet until he found something. His fingers had rubbed along the surface of something made of lacquer-coated wood—it was small, and sort of rectangular. As he continued to feel around the wooden object, he found a sharp edge that led into a hole in the object before he felt three large wooden pegs with what he assumed was silk being wound through them, and then he finally found the reason why those silk strings were tightly wound around using three wooden pegs the second he plucked on one of them along a long and thin wooden shaft. He had just found a samisen! Although judging by the fact that the sound was very abrupt, Naruto ran his hand down the strings of the samisen, and found that the bachi was being held in place by all three strings.

This was good…perhaps this was a good review for him—prior to his blindness, Old Man GSD had taken him to the Baihe estate to learn from their musicians about the intricate details of rhythm using music. All he said back then was that one of these days, what he learned there would have a lot of value in the future. It was there that he had met Meilan…she had taught him how to play his first instrument, which was unsurprisingly the samisen. Their relationship wasn't exactly the best at first, but it wasn't long until they became closer…and as their relationship blossom, so too did Naruto's skill in playing. By the time Meilan was the last member of her family Naruto mastered his skills in playing the samisen to an adept level, was barely competent the biwa, and was a beginner with the koto.

Taking his thoughts back to the area he was in, Naruto eventually found himself wandering further into the closet—he began to realize, upon finding other instruments, that he had stumbled upon the music closet. Looks like someone had a liking for music! As he continued to feel around the closet, his hands had eventually found another instrument—with what he assumed were metal bolts that tied down six metal strings, a flat bridge, and a hollow body with a flat almond-shaped object held down by the strings near the head…oh he knew this instrument! It was an instrument from Kaminari no Kuni…how the Uchiha family had gotten their hands on it, he may never know…but what he did know was that this was his favorite instrument! He picked up the instrument and started walking out of the closet…once he found a spot on the floor he could sit on he pulled the pick out of the strings, and started strumming at each string—making sure they were tuned just right. Once he was satisfied with the sounds coming from the guitar, he simply relaxed, and began playing…it was a song he had thought of that evoked images of a home. A place where one would belong…and with that, he continued to play before the scent of other people being nearby started filling his nose. They had come to investigate the song he was playing no doubt, if the slower steps were any indication…ah well, better greet these people now…

…

[Outside the Dining Area…]

She could not help but marvel at the sights she was seeing as she walked through the mansion. True, she had seen her fair share of mansions, but the Uchiha mansion seemed the most dignified of them all. The cherry trees, the peaches, even the Zen garden were things she seemed to appreciate. Before long, Tenten had heard a strange sound from afar—at first, it sounded like just a few strings being plucked, and then it started being more coherent…and the few strings being plucked started to soothe her as she started moving closer and closer trying to find the source of the beat. She was not an avid listener of music, but even she could tell the sound of talent from afar.

Tenten walked around and around the mansion, trying to find the source, until she found herself facing a shoji door where the music was at its loudest. She walked closer and closer until she found herself a few inches away from the door. The curiosity was gripping her…compelling her to open that door to see who it was that was playing such fine music. Some part of her however, said that perhaps whoever it was did not want to be disturbed. She then reasoned that a quick peek at the musician wouldn't hurt…and so she slid the door open ever-so-slightly to allow her to peek into the room. She scanned the room, and the first thing she noted was that she was looking at someone's back…he was wearing a black hooded vest, and gray pants, and his right arm was strumming whatever instrument he was playing,

As he continued playing, apparently not noticing that she was in the area, she slowly started to open the door a little more. "So someone has come to hear me play," he said a little louder over the music, something about that voice turned her on, while at the same time, she felt she knew that voice, "let's see now…judging from the sound of your footsteps, I would guess that you are about 45 kilograms and stand at roughly 154 centimeters tall give or take—a very healthy statistic for a girl about thirteen years of age such as yourself."

Now she was impressed…Tenten opened the door a little wider and started taking in a little more of the stranger, "You're very good, but how did you know I was thirteen?"

"I could hear your heartbeat; it was too strong and healthy to be that of a woman of about say…seventy years? Either way, it was a bit of a guesstimate."

As she looked on at the stranger in the house, she noted that he had defined arms, and a very well-sculpted body—but what really stood out to her was the fact that he was wearing a blindfold, and that his head was covered in a short mop of spiky, sun-kissed hair. She knew something was familiar about this boy, and now she knew who he reminded her of…and the fact that he had three whisker-marks on each of his cheeks had confirmed it! "Foxy-kun?"

The boy simply flinched upon hearing that name…and then turned to face Tenten with a look of recognition on his face. Yes, this was Uzumaki Naruto—the friend she had made almost seven years ago in the slums. She watched as he carefully put the instrument down and started to lift both of his hands cautiously before settling them both on her cheeks…and she started feeling hot as he started running his hands all over her face gently—glad that he was not able to see the slight tinge of red she was taking on. As she felt his hands exploring her face in an innocent-yet-sensuous way, she remembered all the times she had shared with him—from the day she first found him in the bushes when she got lost in the slums, to the day before he left Konoha on that training trip of his.

As he stopped exploring, he had gently pulled his hands off her face—much to her slight displeasure. "Is that you Tenten?"

No sooner than he had posed the question, Tenten simply didn't care about her image as a tough girl—she just wanted to pull him into a hug as she started letting out tears of joy…angry as she was that he didn't try to find her, she was too happy to see Naruto to care. And besides, how she was hugging him would be both a punishment and a present as it were. "I was afraid I'd never see you again!"

"I'm sorry I didn't try to find you sooner," he said, blushing madly as his face was pressed into Tenten's breasts, "but would you please let me go? I'm pretty sure that this is an awkward position for you."

"Well isn't this an adorable sight?"

Upon hearing that one line, Tenten looked up and noted Mikoto standing outside the dining area with a cat-ate-the-canary grin on her face, and in her hands was the purse she had been looking for. She immediately let go of Naruto with a reddened face.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me Tenten," added Mikoto, the amusement still on her face, "would you like to join us for tea?"

"Um, sure thing Uchiha-sama."

"Splendid…as for you three—since you're here, you might as well make yourselves useful and bring out the crackers!"

Tenten wondered exactly why she made mention of three others, until she heard the sound of a shoji door opening—and in walked the Uchiha twins, and a girl she had not seen before, all glaring at her with daggers in their eyes; jealousy no doubt at the fact that she knew Naruto before any of them did…all she could do however, was glare back. Due to the intensity of the glares, one could swear they heard the crackling of electricity in the air from the apparent four-way rivalry that had developed between them…

…

[Two hours later…]

The tea party had been over almost an hour ago—Tenten had gone home with the pay owed to her father for the iaito Mikoto had ordered, Meilan had led Naruto away by the hand to their apartment, and the twins stood waiting in the training ground waiting for their next lesson in the exquisite art of swordsmanship. The light and bouncing 'clack, clack' of the twins sparring with each other filled the air as they cried out the names of the strikes:

"Men! Men!"

"Do!"

"Kote! Men!"

"Do! Men!"

As she walked towards the training ground carrying a shinai, Mikoto looked back on everything that had happened so far concerning Naruto. When she had heard from the reading of Minato and Kushina's will that she was to be his legal guardian, she had mixed feelings about it…before she settled on confidence—confidence that she would not disappoint her two best friends. She had resolved that little Naruto would grow up with love and a proper family, and become a ninja that would make his parents proud. Once her mind was made up, she had made the trek to Konoha General Hospital to pick up the child so that she could do her duty…the second she stepped into the room where she had left young Naruto, she saw Sarutobi there. She didn't have a good feeling about his appearance, and when she saw that Naruto was no longer in his crib, she began to question him about it. When she learned that Hiruzen had sent Naruto to live in an orphanage, this had begun the first of three earfuls he would be receiving from her…not to mention all the glares of utter contempt he would be receiving from her and all the other clan heads upon learning of his fate.

Hiruzen had assured her and the other clan heads that this was the best thing for everyone in the long run. To be honest, they all knew he had a very legitimate reason for doing this: Konoha was weakened as many of the ninja had died sealing the Kyuubi no Kitsune into Naruto, and the second that her enemies heard of this, they would move on in. This would have been exacerbated by the fact that if people had found out that the Yellow Flash had survived by a son, then even Iwa would find the allure of revenge too strong to resist. Yes, those were legitimate enough reasons behind his actions, but it still didn't remove the bitter taste in her mouth, knowing that she had failed in her promise to Minato and Kushina…that did not mean however, that she gave up.

The second she got home, she found Itachi and privately requested that he go out and find the orphanage Naruto was located at. A few days later, Itachi had returned—with a disgusted look on his face. According to him, the orphanage matron had given Naruto bad milk, and several villagers tried repeatedly to stab him to death more than a couple of times before he and other ANBU (apparently from the other clans) stopped them. Yes, this was disgusting…how far the villagers would go simply to harm one child who had nothing to do with the deaths of their loved ones…and then she realized that there was another reason she started hating Hiruzen along with several other ninja: and that reason came about when that foolish old man revealed to an ignorant civilian populace that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was sealed into a child. Since then, she had started making discreet trips to the orphanage Naruto was at to make sure he was well taken care of…giving him better food and advising him not to share it with the other orphans—those kids were being raised to hate him, so why share with people who didn't deserve it? In the meantime, she had continuously sent in numerous adoption requests—all of which were turned down both by the civilian council, Sarutobi himself (albeit reluctantly), and unsurprisingly her own husband (Fugaku absolutely hated Minato…and this was mostly due to the fact that the latter became Hokage and he didn't).

Two years into her quest to get Naruto a proper family, she'd heard rumor from Hyuuga Otome (heaven rest her soul) that she was not the only one trying to adopt him; while she couldn't count the other ninja that tried to do so, she did know that Nara Shikaku had made thirteen attempts in total so far in that week, Yamanaka Inoichi had made twenty, Akimichi Chouza tried twenty-four times this month, even Hiashi and Otome herself had tried to adopt him almost a hundred times for the past month, to the point that Inuzuka Tsume had tried almost thrice daily for the past two years by every other member of her clan—one of the few clan heads that didn't participate in this was Aburame Shibi, not out of any malice for Naruto but for the fact that he lets out an aura that slowly kills their kikaichu beetles, and out of those clan heads he was the only one with a legitimate reason.

Once Naruto reached five years of age, he was literally kicked out of the orphanage at night—and in front of a crowd that immediately started stomping on him the second he hit the floor. After that event, she eventually took him into the Uchiha safe-house in the slums before she stormed into Sarutobi's office and gave him his second earful—being longer than the last one, due to his response that he wanted Naruto to grow up with a normal childhood. Upon hearing that, she didn't care anymore…she wanted Sarutobi to pay for his inept care of Naruto, and for disregarding the last wishes of a true hero of Konoha. True, he spent **_some_** time with Naruto and treated him like a grandson, but considering how important the boy was to the village Mikoto thought he would've taken better care of him. Her days of keeping him incognito were limited, but they were some of the most joyful days she had next to spending time with her daughters—right up until Hiruzen got him a small apartment to live in, and forbade her from ever visiting him.

When she got home that day, Mikoto found herself siding with Fugaku in his coup and turning a blind eye to the crimes of her clan if only to protect her family—and to make sure that after the whole mess was over, she could finally start to do her duty as Naruto's guardian proper. When she heard of her husband's true intentions for Naruto a few months down the road, Mikoto immediately told Itachi (whom at this point, she had suspected he was very likely the spy for the Hokage) to tell Sarutobi she was willing to cooperate, and that she had a written message for him. The exact contents of this missive, word-for-word was: "Don't mistake my assistance for a sign of forgiveness—I hate you with all my heart for what you did and didn't do for Naruto, and nothing is going to make my hatred any clearer. Keep in mind that I'm giving **_you_** all that I know because I hate Danzo even more, and so before I give you this information, you must give me a written promise that you'll grow a spine and show the civilian council their true place in this village—and if you still lack the courage to do so, then at the very least you'll promise to take better care of Naruto."

It wasn't long until Mikoto received the response that she gave up what she knew of the plot, and everything she had turned a blind eye to. When the day came that Itachi was sent to kill his own family members, she was prepared to die for taking part in a plan that would have involved Naruto being tied down to a table and then raped by every female member of the clan using him as breeding stock, and her own daughters possibly being a part of this corruption started by their father. What she was not prepared for was Itachi sparing her and the twins, placing them in the genjutsu world of Tsukuyomi, and hospitalizing them on the same night that Naruto had gained that demonic arm of his…while in Tsukuyomi, Itachi told her that the reason he spared her was because he knew her motivations for her support of the coup were pure and that that someone needed to make sure the twins would walk down the right path.

When she woke up a couple weeks later, she saw her daughters asleep and in each others' arms…and that Satsuki's identity as Sasuke was not compromised much to her relief—she knew the clan law, and so did they. But then she realized, now that the three of them were the last Uchiha alive, sans Itachi who she knew would be forced to go on the run after his actions, she now had the chance to adopt Naruto…and so she called Sarutobi to talk about the massacre in private. To her rage, she had learned that Naruto was no longer in the village, and that he was taken in by a blind swordsman to be trained to defend himself before he comes to the academy…that was the third and most recent time she had given Sarutobi an earful—and she knew he had a right to feel guilty. If he had thought out his actions more carefully, if he had taken better care of Naruto, then he would not have needed to be taken out of the village for training this early in his life.

Now however, as she stepped into the training ground with the twins ready and willing for the next lesson, Mikoto wondered if it was too late to be Naruto's guardian…

…

**_A/N: No action now…just reunions. The guitar Naruto found/played would be an acoustic Gibson Les Paul—the way I see it, if the Naruto world has TV's and radio headsets, then why can't they have guitars and guitar amps? As to Mikoto, I decided to tell why she was not able to take Naruto into her family, and decided to tie it in to why she survived the Uchiha Incident._**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_City of Commerce" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier"—Naruto and Mikoto_**

"**_Himura Kenshin" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—Naruto plays the guitar_**

…

**_Vocabulary:_**

**_Fighter—a class in Dungeon Fighter Online that specializes in hand-to-hand combat…they use gloves, claws, gauntlets, tonfas, and boxing gloves (only if they are Strikers). Their subclasses are Grappler (lots of throwing techniques), Nen Master (a lot of light-based magic and one of the best defensive play-styles in the game), Brawler (does a lot of poison and blind attacks), and Striker (very fast melee attacker, and has the best offense game). Meilan is an OC of this class…not sure which subclass she'll be yet, but I'm leaning towards Nen Master._**

**_Slayer—a class in Dungeon Fighter Online that are known for their demon-possessed arms. They wield short swords, katana, maces, zanbato (sometimes called great swords), and lightsabres (only if they are Blademasters). Their subclasses are Soul Bender (summons ghosts that buff him and his party, he has the best control game (you trick your opponent a lot)), Berserker (takes lots of damage in order deal more back to the opponent; his techniques tend to inflict the 'bleed' status effect), Asura (specializes in using waves of energy to attack enemies, practically immune to the 'blind' status effect due to being blind himself), and Blademaster (fast melee attacker, uses all Slayer weapons best, has fast weapon-switching speed). Naruto and GSD are both Asura-subclass Slayers, the latter being the NPC that teaches techniques while the former will start off as an Asura before he learns all the techniques of the other Slayer subclasses. Later on, Satsuki and Tsukiko will both be Slayers after Orochimaru gives them the Curse Mark…not sure which subclass they will be and the weapons they will use though._**

**_Samisen—a Japanese string instrument in the shape of a guitar; has three strings, hence its name, and is played using a plectrum (bachi). It has a sound similar to a banjo._**

**_Biwa—another Japanese string instrument; this is a lute with four or five strings._**

**_Koto—a Japanese string instrument; this is a very big zither with 13-17 strings, played on the lap._**

**_Men—in kendo terms, this is a straight-down strike to the head_**

**_Do—in kendo terms, this is a horizontal strike aimed at your guts_**

**_Kote—in kendo terms, this is a quick strike at the wrist_**


	6. Somebody Gonna Get A Hurt REAL BAD!

_**A/N: Well, one thing's for sure in this chapter…we will be having a sexual offender of sorts here. And let me tell you, as soon as Naruto rescues the poor girl that is about to be assaulted by said offender, things are not going to be good here. Also here in this chapter, we'll be getting another girl to the harem in addition to cementing Naruto's place as the possible alpha in the Inuzuka house because of him rescuing that girl. Do read and review would you kindly?**_

_**…**_

[Ninja Academy, next day…]

Naruto sat around on the chair, Meilan, Ino, and Tsukiko snuggling up to him and the other girls (one of them disguised) sitting closer to him as he waited for the results of the exam. He couldn't study, given that he was not given anything to accommodate a blind student…no raised letters, nobody to reiterate what he had learned save for Meilan and apparently the other girls that seemed to like him, it's as if someone _**wanted**_ him to fail every one of those damn exams, not even an oral test. It was then that the door to the back of the classroom opened and in walked the roughly 130-kg steps of both Iruka and Mizuki plus the rustle of a paper, no doubt containing the results of the exams.

"All right class, the results of your exams are in!" called in Iruka, "I hope you will all take in these results and use them to do better next time. To those of you that did well, I say 'congratulations'." As everyone started to get up to check their grades, Meilan simply pinned him to the chair before he could go anywhere. "Don't bother," she said, "I'll go see your grade."

"Where can I go? I can't even see."

Once she was assured that Naruto wouldn't be leaving his seat, Meilan left with the other girls to check on their grades. Upon reaching their destination, the two girls saw their grades: For the academic part of their tests, the top five for the boys, from highest to lowest were: Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino, Kiba, and some kid named Bakana Hihimaru. On the girls side, the top five were Tsukiko, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Meilan. For the taijutsu part, the top five were Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and again, Hihimaru…the girls however had Meilan sharing the top spot with Tsukiko due to the tie, followed by Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and a girl named Kiriya Nojiko. This did not sit well with the girls…as they knew that Naruto had been studying hard, and Meilan was especially disappointed in the fact that people were still discriminating against her apparently unknowing lover. That said, the girls went back up to the stands, and sat next to Naruto. "So how did everyone do?"

Meilan didn't know how to spare his feelings, but she spoke up anyway. "Oh, everyone made it so far."

"And how was my grade?"

Before she could answer, Meilan was cut off by Ino. "It was fine, nothing to worry about."

He let out a disappointed sigh. "I didn't do well did I?"

Tsukiko was about to deny it when she saw that he had this…look on his face that said 'don't bother lying to me'. "Yep."

"I should've known…I'm pretty sure I felt malice when I was around those other teachers. Ah, but who cares—they're probably just a bunch of idiots anyway."

Upon hearing that, the five of them wondered just how he was willing to take such a savage yet indirect beating from teachers. They all knew that there was a lot of corruption in this village…it made its ugly head known, and many of the civilians and a good number of ninja were a part of it. It didn't help their case that the many students were laughing at the fact that Naruto was the dead-last…even Sakura had a look of pride in her eyes at the fact that she had beaten that annoying moron! Naruto had to cover his ears as she shouted something along the lines of "I always knew Sasuke-kun would beat that annoyingly stupid brat! Serves him right for getting between me and Sasuke-kun! True love prevails!" The rest of the fan-girls agreed on that train of thought…there was no way that the blind kid would ever beat the power of the Uchiha, no matter how hot or skilled he was! Although to be honest, even Sakura had to admit that Naruto was eye-candy material…but in her eyes, he was just that—a hot yet dumb blond who depended on other people to get around! He probably didn't even thank the people that helped him, the brat! Didn't his parents teach him to be grateful?

As they continued to ponder about the hot eye-candy, Sakura and the other Sasuke fan-girls wondered why the other founding member of the Sasuke Fan-Club was being seen snuggling up to Naruto…but this was nothing compared to the perverted thoughts they all had of Sasuke and Naruto being the stars of a grade-A yaoi novel. Sakura on the other hand, simply saw Naruto as a rival for Sasuke's affections…maybe Sasuke wasn't gay, but the blond bimbo probably was! Ha! Like Sasuke would fall for someone like that!

…

[After class…]

The setting of the sun…the relative peace of the area around him…this would be a good moment for Naruto to practice expanding his chakra reserves by extending the reach of his chakra senses. So far, he was able to send a light 5kHz chakra pulse up to 500 meters away…now he was aiming to intensify the frequency to 300MHz to that distance. Meilan was inside the supermarket, purchasing groceries for tonight and tomorrow, and so he may as well do something to wait. As he sat on the bench gradually increasing the frequency of the chakra pulse, he had barely reached 100-MHz when he could not help but notice that there was a lot of hatred directed at him. He could hear some people were telling their children to stay away from him…that he was a scary monster that wanted to eat them. He could feel a good number of glares directed at him, before he sent a wave of killing intent their way to drive them away after they soiled themselves in terror…not a wise move on his part, but at least he was alone now, and he could finally get to his meditations in peace.

Before he could contemplate anything, he realized that his wish for a peaceful moment of meditation would not come true upon hearing a very loud and very familiar voice screaming "HELP!" Naruto was startled upon hearing that scream piercing his ears…seriously, that girl needed to learn to control her voice. He was just about to get angry when he finally smelled what was going on…he smelled fear, arousal, and dogs? Oh, just perfect…not one day since he took care of that mutt and Naruto found himself wanting to beat down the boy that smelled like a toilet that hadn't been flushed for weeks. He really wasn't looking forward to doing this…not after the abuse his nose had received yesterday from that horrible smell.

…

[Darkened Alleyway…]

The Hyuuga girl tried to fight off her assailant, but Inuzuka Kiba was too strong an opponent! The puppy tried to keep his owner in check, but to no avail—the boy simply would not listen to reason and knocked Akamaru away. Deep in her mind, she was praying anybody would come to her rescue. "Nobody's going to come save you," he said menacingly, with the hint of a mocking tone in it, "since the Uchiha girl and Hinata-chan are both that blind asshole's mates, I can't exactly touch either of them…you on the other hand Ms. Hyuuga—personally, I think you're not as pretty as Hinata-chan, but I think you're close enough…but you're about the only girl that isn't taken by Sasu-gay or that blind fuck!"

"HELP M…"

At this point, Kiba simply slapped the Hyuuga girl to make her shut up. "You're not going to get any help bitch! You belong to me now!" The second that Kiba managed to get his hands on the girl's blouse, he knew that victory was his…and he'll teach this bitch a lesson one way or another!

"Hey, Toilet-Head!"

Kiba had barely turned his head to find the intruder when he was clocked across the head with a very heavy haymaker to disorient him. The rape victim then watched as her savior grabbed her assailant by the shoulders so that he could spike a knee into the would-be rapist's solar plexus before finishing off with a Glasgow kiss to his nose, finally knocking him out and breaking said nose. It was then that he turned to face her…and said "You okay?" The Hyuuga girl was speechless—she had never met this boy before, so why was he helping her? Why would he do that? And why was it that he stood in such a way that the reddened sun was acting like a halo behind his head? Why was this appearance turning her on? This wasn't supposed to happen! "I-I-I'm fine, th-thank-"

It was then that he raised his hand to silence her politely. "No need to thank me," he said, "I just can't stand rapists in any shape or form." "What's going on here?" Naruto turned and faced the arriving form of Meilan, walking up with grocery bags in her arms.

"The horn-dog on the ground was trying to rape this little lady here, so I knocked him out."

The look of horror on Meilan's face was very clear as she dropped the bags in shock before running up to the Hyuuga girl with a concerned look on her face. With that on mind, she ran up to her and pulled her into a hug as she started stroking her long, black hair, cooing gently and assuring her that everything was okay. She then turned to see Naruto walking towards Kiba's unconscious body. "What are you going to do Naruto?"

"What else? I'm going to drag his body to whichever clan compound he's from. And unfortunately, I'm going to have to use his scent to find out where he lives." Before he could move in close to smell the horrid smell of urine from three different dogs, Naruto heard barking nearby. He then found that there was still a puppy around, getting his attention…Akamaru was it? In any case, Naruto had turned up the frequency of his chakra pulse to 1GHz, and saw the puppy outside the alleyway…the look on its canine face was beckoning him to follow him.

"Meilan, would you be a dear and take the girl home and wait for me there? Also, you may want to find Hinata, she'll probably know who she is, judging by the smell of medicinal herbs and bath salts about her."

Meilan had a look of determination on her face upon hearing the request. "You got it." It was then that she led the Hyuuga girl away…but not before gaining satisfaction from landing a low kick to Kiba's side hard enough to make him grunt in pain. Upon seeing that Meilan had led the rape victim away, Naruto turned to face Akamaru. "Can you understand me?"

With his 1GHz chakra pulse, Naruto noted that Akamaru nodded for 'yes'. "Okay then, before we go, I'm going to need to smell you so that I don't get lost, understand?" Upon getting approval from the puppy, Naruto walked up and sniffed around at Akamaru's head…committing his smell to memory. Once he grabbed Kiba by the hood of his jacket, they started walking down the empty streets of Konoha…

…

[Inuzuka Compound Veterinary Clinic, roughly an hour later…]

Inuzuka Hana sat around at the reception desk, the Haimaru triplets were sleeping around her…business was slow in the vet today—not too many people had a lot of pets that needed to get better. But then again, she wasn't surprised…the Inuzuka Clan had the best clinic for animals in general, and so of course not a lot of people would have a lot of pet problems around here. Still however, it was getting very boring…give her a mission! Give her a bird with a broken wing! Anything but this dull boredom that sometimes came with having a free day! Hell, she'd even take that vacation day with Kurenai and maybe even get Anko out to give her some fresh air while they're at it! But no! Her mother was out and looking for more herbs to make medicine with…medicines they just happened to be low on, and that were too expensive to purchase!

Before she could continue on with her silent ranting, the bells sounded as the doors they were attached to opened. Finally! Something to do! She turned door with a smile on her face, until she noted Akamaru walking in with a blind and blond boy dragging something heavy behind him. Something was off about this picture…Akamaru was never far from Kiba, so where was that little brat? "Excuse me," began the blind boy, "but is this the Inuzuka Compound?"

Hana studied the little boy…his hair was the sun-kissed variety, and his body was muscular for someone of his age—she wondered exactly how he would look when fully grown-up. And then she noted that the boy had three whisker-like marks on each side of his face…oh she knew who this was! She'd protected that vulpine little face too many times from a lot of moronic and spiteful villagers to forget him! To think that Naruto had changed so much in five years was staggering in her mind—coupled in with what she'd heard of him lately, and she began to think of scenarios involving him and her alone in the park…doing things. She then shook her thoughts back to reality and wondered exactly what Akamaru was doing alone…but she decided to ask first as to what her guest wanted. "It most definitely is, why do you ask?"

"Nothing special, I just wanted to tell you that I've dragged an unconscious would-be rapist here…and let me tell you, it wasn't exactly easy to do; not on my arm, and most definitely not on my nose."

A would-be rapist? Here? Now this Hana had to see…she got up from her seat behind the reception desk, and noted to her horror that the would-be rapist was her own little brother! "What did he do?"

"I was meditating when I heard the sound of a girl screaming for help—that's when I smelled his stink, and I realized what was going on. Right after that, I practically beat him senseless—taking care to knock him out. The girl's laying low at my place for now."

It was then that Akamaru started barking in agreement…and it would appear that Kiba had another witness against him, as Akamaru told her that he'd been listening in on Kiba. Hana could only clench her fist in rage upon learning that her little brother's envy against Naruto had finally gotten him to snap, and so he decided to take his frustrations out on any girl he found by taking her virginity. And it just so happened that the unfortunate victim of this attempt was a Hyuuga…oh Hiashi was not going to be happy at all. "What's going to happen now?" asked Naruto, genuinely concerned about the situation.

Before she could answer, a cold presence had made itself known in the reception area of the vet. "I'm very sure you don't have to worry about that," said a feral-yet-attractive female voice laced with cold hatred, "Kiba will get his just desserts. But first, we're going to have to see the Hyuuga Clan Head to formally apologize to him."

Hana turned to find that the cold presence was coming from her own mother, standing in the doorway with a basket of herbs in her arms—oh, Kiba was in deep now. Although she had to wonder…just how long was she standing there for? Did she hear everything?

"Before you ask Hana, yes I heard everything that was spoken in this room. It really disappoints me that my own son would do such a thing!"

"I'm going to leave now," said Naruto, gaining the attention of the two women in the room, "I'm sorry I beat up your son Mrs. Inuzuka."

"Don't worry about it pup," she said, softening her gaze a bit for the young pup, "you're not at fault here. I'm just really angry at Kiba right now…"

"I understand that…but if you must punish him, would you please refrain from letting dogs urinate on him? I can still smell the urine of three different dogs on him, and those self-same dogs are in this room right now—it's really offending my nose as we speak."

The two women looked to Naruto with surprise in their eyes—only an Inuzuka would have noses that sharp! Although, judging from his situation, they found that they shouldn't be surprised that he could smell and recognize the Haimaru triplets. Blind people did tend to have sharper senses when their eyesight was gone after all. "No worries Naruto," she said, "I won't let his punishment be cruel and unusual…but it will still be all manner of unpleasant."

Naruto turned to face in the general direction of Tsume with a look of surprise on his face. How did she know who he was? It was already strange enough that the twins' mother knew of him by name, but how did the Inuzuka clan head know of him in that manner as well? What confirmed his train of thought was that he had a feeling that she let it slip. "That's strange; the Uchiha Twins' mother seemed to know me enough to call for me by name…why do you know me too?"

Tsume let out a sigh. She really let this one slip big-time. Oh well, if she's caught, she may as well come clean…she only wished she'd had the ability to help him sooner. "I tried to adopt you many times. Most of the civilian council and several clan heads denied those requests—Uchiha Fugaku included."

"You tried to adopt me?"

"Yeah, even before you were kicked out of the orphanage, a lot of the other clan heads and several other ninja had tried to adopt you. But circumstances wouldn't allow us to do so."

"I don't suppose it has anything to do with a certain fox that is now sealed in my arm now would it?"

Tsume and Hana looked to Naruto with a look of surprise on their faces: Naruto knew about the fox? And he was talking about it nonchalantly? Just what the hell kind of training did he go through? Before they could question him, Naruto let out a sigh when he took their silence for a 'yes'. "I should've known…those people are so stupid, they can't even tell that if I were the Kyuubi, I would not even be a boy! And before you ask: the fox is a girl…one that can't seem to stop talking about sex, but a girl nonetheless."

Now there was a thought…Naruto was on speaking terms with a demonic fox that turned out to be female! This was getting a mite interesting…although the two of them had thoughts along the lines of 'Ha! Take that you sexist pigs! Girls rule!' they were also wary of the fact that she couldn't seem to stop talking about sex.

"What does she talk about?"

"Sometimes she'll advise me on what to do, but whenever I touch someone with my left arm, she'll whisper perverted stuff in my ear…except when it's a matter of survival."

"Anyway, I think you should get going now. And don't worry about Kiba; I'll see to it that he's punished accordingly…assuming of course Hiashi wants ME to punish him—a very favorable outcome if you ask me."

Naruto simply bowed before the two women, and started walking towards the door to the vet. "Hana, why don't you take the Haimaru triplets out for a walk and escort the boy to his apartment? I'm pretty sure he should be reserving his chakra for something other than finding his way home."

Upon hearing this, Hana turned to face her mother with a look of surprise in her feral features, while at the same time, Naruto froze not two steps away from the door before turning to face the two women. "There's no need for that Inuzuka-sama, I can find my way home fine."

"Yes, but it would be rude of me to send a person in your condition out without an escort to ensure he gets home safely." Naruto was not going to have any of it…but before he could open his mouth with a retort prepared in his mind, Tsume was right in front of him with her index finger over his lips. "Just take the offer," she said, "it's the least I can do."

Upon hearing that and feeling the finger leaving his lips, Naruto had realized then and there that he was fighting a losing battle. "Very well then, since you're so insistent on offering, I'll accept; thank-you for the assistance."

"No problem."

Hana went to the reception desk, and woke the Haimaru triplets—upon hearing that there would be a walk, the three brothers were excited! They all rushed to the door to wait for Hana outside…but when they found Naruto, their ears, heads, and tails drooped in submission to him as if he were the prime alpha of the Inuzuka house, just before Naruto knelt down and started petting them and their energy started to return.

Tsume looked upon the scene with a curious eye—from what she had noticed, all canines (be they the most cunning of foxes or the mightiest of wolf packs) seemed to submit to Naruto like an alpha of the pack…perhaps due to the fact that the Kyuubi no Yoko is herself a canine demon and thus the supreme alpha female of all canines. Perhaps this was among the lesser reasons she wanted to adopt Naruto—because she felt like she could trust the clan in his hands when he grows up and becomes the Hokage he was destined to be; another reason was due to the fact that a while before the Uchiha Massacre, she noted Fugaku having some kind of power-hungry look on his face upon hearing mention of his name. But the ultimate reason for her many attempts at adopting him was due to the fact that she knew that Minato and Kushina had wanted Naruto to be raised in an environment with love and care—which also led to why she had come to hate Hiruzen as much as Mikoto. Who in the ninja community didn't know of her resentment towards the 'Honorable Third'? She was there when Namikaze couple's will was read—she knew that Mikoto was awarded legal guardianship of Naruto over his own godfather.

As she watched her daughter and Naruto leave through the front door with the Haimaru triplets leading them, Tsume started to reflect even further into the past concerning the days after the Namikaze will was read. Now don't get her wrong; she was glad that Jiraya was not the one to raise him, still wished that at least he would've been the one to take care of the pup—his perverted streak be damned. She felt that if Naruto grew up with Kiba, then the latter would not have turned out as he had…that if Kiba had a brother-figure in his life, he would've been a better person than if she and Hana were the only ones to raise him.

She then thought back to the days before her husband died in the Kyuubi attack—oh how she missed that man! He always did know how to treat her right in the bed…perhaps if he lived, then maybe things would have been better. Tsume then sighed in sadness as small tears had filled her eyes—these tears had come about from sadness at the fate of her husband, and at the fate that could befall her only son…yes, Hiashi was most definitely going to have a conniption when he hears of what Kiba tried to do…

…

[Streets of Konoha, roughly one hour and thirty minutes later…]

"…I can only guess that life then was so hard, so what did you do?"

"Well, as you can imagine, it wasn't exactly easy to earn money off the streets without doing something for the crowd in return. And so Meilan and I had to think of a way to earn money—it just so happened that we stopped in front of a music store that I had an idea! Meilan had a very good voice, and I was very good with stringed instruments, so you can figure out what the plan was."

What started off as small talk almost forty-five minutes prior had turned into a bit of story-time on the part of Naruto. When talking about his interests, he revealed that among them was music…something that Hana just happened to enjoy as much as she did spending time with the Haimaru triplets. According to Naruto, while he was travelling with Old Man GSD and Meilan, the two of them went out to play duets for passer-bys with Naruto providing the strings and Meilan singing with that supposedly heavenly voice of hers. Needless to say, they had apparently earned a lot of cash for their troubles, and this went on even after Naruto had gone blind.

"At least you have something to do in the future aside from ninja work…maybe I'll even attend one of your concerts!"

"I'll take note of that."

"Well, here we are…888 Fortune Road."

Hana studied the area around her—it was quiet…too quiet. When she saw that the reason for the silence came from the fact that nobody was working in the buildings, she could only sigh to herself at how ridiculous people were being. It was one thing to be bigots against people with no control over the circumstances of their birth, but to have such hatred as to create a massive waste of space via a sort of 'exodus' away from the territory of the 'demon brat' was actually taking things too far. It was then that she noticed a few ninja going in to the same apartment building that she was taking Naruto to as they reached the doorway to the apartment building. "Thanks for helping me out Inuzuka-san," said Naruto after having turned to face the Inuzuka heiress, "I think I can take it from here."

She watched as Naruto started walking forward and into the apartments, wondering how much muscle was in that ass of his. Hana was broken out of her thoughts when she heard one of the Haimaru triplets barking at her…being an Inuzuka, speaking dog was actually second-nature to her, so it was no surprise that she blushed upon understanding what that dog said. "Shut up! It's not like that!"

Another of the triplets barked in response. "Hey, it's not like I can resist! Besides, I'm pretty sure all three of you see him as alpha material too."

The final triplet stayed silent, but the look in his eye said enough. "Look, let's just go home. Mom probably wants me to help make sure Kiba doesn't do anything. By the way, did the three of you really have to piss on him? I'm pretty sure that he didn't do anything for you to go that far."

Upon hearing that, all three triplets barked at the same time…causing her to clench her fist in rage, before she released it, knowing Kiba was going to get his pretty soon. She took a deep breath and calmed down. "Okay then, so he _**DID**_ warrant the three of you pissing on him…although next time if you want to bring Kuromaru in to maul him, you can count on me not to tell anyone."

The three dogs nodded in agreement, and started leaving with their mistress…as Hana started thinking of the possibility of mating with the last Uzumaki…

…

_**A/N: Since one of you joked that there was an imbalance in the Hyuuga-Uchiha ratio in the harem, I decided to add another Hyuuga…who it was that Naruto rescued will be a surprise, but I will listen to your guesswork. Kudos to Russell Peters! I'm also taking suggestions as to which team Naruto should be put into and who his teammates and sensei will be.**_

_**…**_

_**Fighter Techniques Used:**_

_**Knee Drop—Male Grappler**_

_**…**_

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Encounter" by KonamiJPN from "Metal Gear Solid"—Naruto beats down Kiba…again**_

_**"Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Hana escorts Naruto**_

_**…**_

_**Vocabulary/Culture Notes:**_

_**Bakana—a made-up Japanese surname, meaning 'stupid'.**_

_**Hihimaru—Japanese name, simply means 'baboon' (the '–maru' suffix is always used in a masculine name).**_

_**Glasgow kiss—another word for a 'headbutt'.**_


	7. Hyuuga Bond Festival

_**A/N: I rather don't like that people just come and review with me that they don't want to read on just because I'm among the people who like Naruhina pairings and have included Hinata in the harem…in my eyes, you're no better than trolls if you do that. To all readers, if there's something you don't like about my stories, then please do the smart thing and don't read the story at all…don't even bother to review if you don't like it so much, as it wastes my time when you nitpick over little details like that. That aside, we're going to see what fate has befallen Kiba—beating him up seems to be too good a punishment in my opinion. Other than that, do read and review would you kindly? Also, I'd like to thank dany le fou for catching a slip I let out last chapter…however, it still applies that I'm adding a Hyuuga to the harem to balance out the Hyuuga-Uchiha ratio. I won't say who the lucky girl will end up being yet, as I want it to be a surprise in the long-run, but I will say that she wants to thank him 'greatly' for saving her.**_

_**Senjuuchiha: Anko and Hinata are already in the harem…Tsunade is definitely not going to be in due to the fact that she is in fact related to Naruto, but Shizune seems to be a possibility. Tsume is a bit iffy as she tried to adopt him a lot of times before, but we already have Hana confirmed for the harem…although thoughts are about in my head as to Kiba's reaction to both his mum and sister joining the harem.**_

_**…**_

[Near the Hyuuga Compound, almost three weeks later…]

Hinata was excited to bring Naruto in to meet her family—ever since she had told her father of who it was that brought Kiba over to get his just desserts, he had been dying to meet him…and it just so happened that today was a festival in the Hyuuga estate; a perfect excuse to invite him over. The problem was that Naruto and Meilan, as they were constantly travelling, never had to buy formal wear—neither of them had any kimono or even a yukata to attend any festivals with, and so Hinata lent the two of them an orange yukata with blue trim for Naruto and a lilac kimono with white lotus blossoms embroidered at the bottom for Meilan.

It actually made the two of them blush when they helped Naruto put on his yukata due to his blindness…Hinata had the worst of the blushing as it was the first time she was seeing his well-built body without that vest of his. As she touched the ripped muscles, she could not help but think of very naughty thoughts involving them. What seemed to also give him a bit of a more dignified appearance was the fact that he slung his katana on the left side of his waist…a bit paranoid she thought, but she understood that most people wouldn't go anywhere without a weapon—and after the incident where she was almost kidnapped, she didn't blame him.

"So what can you tell me about your family Hinata?" asked Naruto, as they were walking, eliciting an 'eep' from Hinata and a blush. "W-well, like you said before, m-my family owns a spa and a medical clinic," she began, "t-that is where much of our revenue comes from d-during peacetime. M-many members of my clan a-are so arrogant, I wonder if the U-Uchiha were any better…others however, are a different matter altogether."

"Sounds like they have a really big stick shoved where the sun won't shine," said Meilan, leading Naruto around by the hand as usual, "but all in all, I'd like to see how bad it is in your family…because you seem like an okay person to me; a bit shy for my liking, but an okay person nonetheless."

Hinata could only chuckle nervously. "Don't worry—not every Hyuuga is as bad as you think…although there are one or two bad ones, we are by and large good people." As she led her friends to the estate, she began to think back on the past since she started attending the Ninja Academy—before, she was a nervous wreck who tended to fail at a lot of things. All the while, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what Kiba's punishment was…

…

[Meanwhile, at the Inuzuka Compound…]

He could not stand it anymore! He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't—apparently, his tormentors had to go visit Uchiha Mikoto to borrow a pair of those clamps that keep the patient's eyelids open. For the past few weeks now, Kiba was forced to watch the most disgusting thing he had ever seen—the worst kind of pornography a straight person could ever watch…and that was gay porn. He watched as men started mounting each other and mating with each other, he could only think back to the words his mother uttered to him: "You brought this upon yourself Kiba…and unfortunately for you, since Hyuuga Hiashi didn't want to punish you, I was given the honor of doing so. You wanted see some sex? Well you're going to see sex…in fact you're going to be watching Inuzuka members going at it…I won't say if their canine companions will be involved though."

At first, when he heard of that, Kiba wondered exactly what sort of punishment would involve him watching porn—it was paradise to him! And if it was lesbian porn, then aces! But then he saw that with the first couple to waltz on in to the chambers where he was to be punished, neither of them were girls…they were very much effeminate Inuzuka men with really big dogs! And thus, his punishment had begun the second that his mother left when the first gay Inuzuka men had started to pleasure each other…and Kiba was unable to close his eyes from the sight. To make things worse, he was watching as different gay Inuzuka couples started walking in—some were mounting each other…their dogs were even mounting each other…some didn't bother mounting each other, and were mounting their dogs instead (who also happened to be male)…oh how terrible! And the worst of it was whenever they would hold an orgy!

And so, the ironic punishment of Inuzuka Kiba continued, as he was forced to watch in disgust at the sight before him…forever being scarred for life as he realized the consequences for any future rape attempts…

…

[Hyuuga Compound…]

The lanterns strung about had added the air of festivity about the place. There was no mistaking that the Hyuugas were holding a celebration. This was one of the few times that the members of both the Main and Branch families could get together and forget the troubles and strife between the two groups; Main house families could openly enjoy a shot of sake with friends from the Branch house, and vice-versa, while children from the Branch house could play with children in the Main house. Such was the joyous air of the annual Hyuuga Bond Festival…a festival meant to aid in lowering tensions between the two houses.

Hinata had brought her two friends from school over to meet her father—who in turn had expressed interest in meeting Naruto. Upon going through the gates to the compound, what she saw was a sight she was always happy to see every year—none of the Branch members glaring at Main house members, children from both sides playing with each other…so many good sights she wanted to see in the future the day she took power. However, the air was tainted as she noted that only one or two members of the Main house, all of them elders, had looked in their direction with utter contempt. She shrugged it off as the elders having been knocked off their high horses when she beat down Neji, but somehow she had a feeling she was not the subject of their glaring at the moment.

"So you finally showed up!"

Oh, she was not looking forward to hearing that voice now. Ever since he had recovered from the injuries she had inflicted upon him, Neji had been tirelessly working to get stronger. While that was a good thing for him, it only served to make him more arrogant—a fact that seemed to make his little sister accompanying him more shamed that he was her brother. Hinata knew that little Nami was not exactly happy that her brother was letting the pride get to his head…she knew that she wanted him back to the way he was, before he started spouting that rubbish about fate and destiny, and all that crap. As far as she was concerned, Nami needed her favorite cousin to beat him down as savagely as she did—little did she know that Nami was actually thankful for it. As she looked at Naruto, she could only blush as she saw his form from under the yukata he wore…and that sword at his side seemed to make him look cooler.

"And I see that you brought the dead-last with you! He's probably so inadequate that he had to bring a sword with him."

"NEJI! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BEING MEAN TO YOUR COUSIN ON THIS DAY?"

Hinata turned, and saw who it was that spoke…oh she knew who it was that was walking towards them. She never did like Neji much after that incident with the Kumo ambassador, and his sensei really freaked her out; but his teammates were a whole different story altogether…she was okay with Rock Lee so long as he didn't start hugging with his sensei (she could've sworn they were both gay)—Tenten on the other hand, was a rather good friend. This is especially true whenever she decides to dress down Neji for, due to lack of a better phrase, being an ass…and this was because even though Tenten was admittedly weaker than Neji, she still seemed to have the power to talk down to him like a child and get away with it.

Just as more words of fire and rage were about to leave her tongue, Tenten turned to see someone she really wanted to see. "Naruto! How good it is to see you on this fine day!"

The confusion in Naruto's face slowly melted away as simply smiled. "Tenten, is that you?"

"Well who else would it be?"

Rock Lee turned to face Tenten with a look of confusion in his eyes…before realization crossed his big-eyed features. "Naruto? Isn't that the boy…" Before he could finish his sentence, Lee found a hand slapped over his mouth—a hand attached to an arm that belonged to Tenten. "Don't mind him," she said, with a sort of grin that hid something behind it, "Lee is an honest, hard-working boy, but sometimes he just says the weirdest things."

"No worries, I've heard weirder."

Before she could ponder on that sentence from the mouth of her good friend, she noted something hanging at the left side of his hip—Tenten's eyes had zeroed in on something interesting. "N-Naruto…t-t-that s-s-sword…canIseeitplease?"

A quizzical look on Naruto's face had appeared when one eyebrow was raised. "I'm sorry, come again?"

After realizing that she was starting to sound like a fan-girl Tenten calmed herself down, and added an air of professionalism to her voice. "May I please see your katana?"

Not seeing any harm in it, Naruto pulled the katana out from his sash with a sigh. "Okay, but please, do be careful with it…this sword was a gift, and so I treasure it greatly."

Knowing how samurai and other swordsmen tend to have an attachment to their swords, Tenten nodded in agreement, showing proper etiquette to the katana by bowing before it, and then beginning her inspection. Its sheath was covered in black lacquer and inlaid mother-of-pearl clouds and its handle was wrapped in leather—however, what made this katana stand out was the tsuba; it was a disc of brass in the shape of a spiral…oh she knew whose work this was!

"Impressive," she said, upon unsheathing the blade and looking at the wave-like pattern of its hamon, "it's obviously made with a special kind of steel that reacts with chakra…not to mention the technique used to make it amplify chakra-based attacks without compromising its durability; this isn't a bad sword at all though with or without it. Where did you get this?"

Naruto sighed in elation as he began to recount what had happened. "I met a man in Tetsu no Kuni during my training trip a while after I went blind…he was a very powerful old man from what I could tell of his chakra signature—it seemed like it was withering away, but it was still quite powerful. One day, while training, he was passing by as he watched me practicing a jutsu my sensei taught me at the time while Meilan was nearby practicing in her family's style…after a while, we got to speaking. We talked about dreams, what we're learning, and a little about him…he was a nice guy, seemed to be very smart too. Apparently he was a swordsmith, and that he was finding inspiration for his best work or something like that…said his name was Masamune or something like that. Anyway, before he left, he told me to keep on working at my jutsu while he went to work on that sword he started on.

"Six months later, old man Masamune finds me on the ground and tired…and just after having finished learning the jutsu sensei taught me, and with Meilan holding my head in her lap. He knelt down, gave me some lunch, and then asked if I mastered the technique yet. I told him I may have gotten the basics of the technique down, but I've a long ways to go before mastering it. He simply chuckled, and then gave me the very sword you're holding in your hand…he called it 'Mizu-hime', and he made me promise to take very good care of her. Since then, Mizu-hime's never been parted from me, even after I started getting other weapons."

As she continued to inspect this apparently exceptional katana, Tenten could not help but be surprised…to think that this sword was Masamune's latest work! Every bladesmith of any specialty worth their salt knew of Gyudo Nyudo Masamune from Tetsu no Kuni…who didn't know of the best swordsmith in the land? His name was known far and wide, and his works were just as legendary…blades of such craftsmanship that they were said to have been able to sever the spirit from the body without even so much as a nick on the skin. And then one day, Masamune stated that he would not be making swords for a time as he had lost his inspiration to make any more…yet here was Naruto, finally giving the man inspiration to make one final katana! A blade of this quality would be worth millions! Upon sheathing the sword, she resolved at that moment to not disclose the news that Masamune had recently died. "It's a very beautiful sword," she said, bowing before the blade and handing it back to Naruto, "very fitting of its name."

Naruto took the sword back, and slung it back in its place at his left side. "Thanks for listening Tenten. I—"

"So there you are!" The voice came from behind Tenten—it was very much masculine…probably belonging to someone in his early forties. Like most Hyuuga members, this one smelled of the bath salts and herbal medicines they were known for—unlike the other members however, this voice had the scent of vegetables, and sumi-e ink mixed in. However, there was a second set of scents near that man that had the mix of candy and lavender…a feminine scent judging by its soft intensity.

"I was wondering where you were, and now I see you were here conversing with friends."

Hinata could not believe the look on the man's face. "Tou-san!" The voice belonged to one Hyuuga Hiashi…with a bit of an amused look on his face. Next to him however, was a little girl that could be what Hinata would look like should she grow her hair longer…this was Hyuuga Hanabi.

"So I see the rumors are true…it seems you have lost the ability to see." As Hiashi continued his inspection of the boy. Neji could only look at his uncle in confusion—why was the head of the clan treating this nobody as if he were an equal? Does he not know that this is the Dead-Last of the academy? Perhaps it would be beneficial to test him out himself and see just how strong he really was.

The other Hyuuga in the area had mixed reactions: Nami could only share in her brother's confusion—why would her uncle know of the hot kid in front of her? At first, Hanabi was curious as to why her father knew of this boy she was looking at before she simply looked away…the makings of a blush were beginning to form on her face as she saw his chest from under the yukata—thank kami she had not used her Byakugan to see what was underneath. Hinata was the only one that knew that her father wanted to meet Naruto, and so she was not surprised that she knew of him—she was only hoping that he would not say anything embarrassing…although she was hoping Naruto would be meeting her father on their wedding day, this situation was no less nerve-wracking.

Naruto bowed from his waist before the voice. "I'm sorry Hyuuga-sama; you know of me, but I am not exactly familiar with you."

"Ah, forgive my rudeness! I am Hyuuga Hiashi—the head of the Hyuuga clan. And with me is my youngest daughter Hanabi. Hinata told me that you aided in the rescue of one of our members from a rapist—I invited you to this festival to thank you for that act. I know of how your birthdays have not exactly been joyous…truth be told, I've aided in rescuing you several times myself, and I still feel like I haven't done enough. So today I've decided to allow you to attend a festival for a change."

"I thank-you for the kindness Hiashi-sama, but are you sure your clan members will be fine around me?"

"You've nothing to fear from my clan…the majority of my clan members are more open-minded, and will be fair. If they have any objections, they can take it up with me."

…

[Inuzuka Compound…]

Kiba simply remained limp—he'd learned these past few weeks to treasure these moments of peace and quiet. He was also thankful that the gay couples that walked on in were merciful enough to leave when their business was done…that, and he was also thankful that they hadn't made a move on him yet—perhaps because his mother had ordered them simply to torture him with that sight. It was then that he would remember this day as the day he learned what would happen if he tried to rape somebody.

Before he could think about his situation any further, Kiba heard the door opening. He was so afraid that he was starting to wet himself…no more! He wanted no more of this horror show he was forced to watch! He learned his lesson! But as he watched the door open, he realized to his relief that it was his mother that walked on in…she had a very angry and disappointed look on her face. He didn't want to see that sight ever again.

The second that Tsume was a few inches away from her son, she had stopped. "Have you learned your lesson yet?"

To that, Kiba had a hopeful look in his eyes. His voice had become dead and hoarse from his constant attempts to scream for help, and for his constant state of illness. "I have…I won't ever do it again…"

"Good…now you make sure that it doesn't—because if it does happen again, then you're not just going to watch this again; you're going to be a part of it. Am I clear?"

Kiba's nod was desperate—he didn't want to be a witness to this horror show ever again, much less a participant. He would've agreed to anything at this point…but his vow to never end up in this position again still applied.

…

[Hyuuga Compound…]

The festival went on in the Hyuuga Compound—it was mainly a joyous time as there were members from both branches finally getting together as equals and not as master and servant…the games were being played by the younger children had brought the air of happiness up, and the appearance of the blind stranger that saved one of their own from danger seemed to be a welcome change. Naruto seemed to have a bit of a flair when telling stories…although the fact that he contributed music to the festival with a samisen he found by accident in the compound seemed to help his popularity among the younger Hyuuga children as he told his stories in the same fashion as bards of old—although she did catch an adult or two in the crowd. This only served to make three girls hot for him: Tenten didn't understand herself why she liked Naruto so much, she just knew that it made her hot just thinking of him—was it love? She hoped it was…although if that were the case and judging from the looks she noted that Meilan and Hinata shared on their faces, she knew that she was likely to have competition, but that was okay: she always did love a challenge.

Hinata on the other hand had thoughts of hard pectorals and abs, and how they would be like in the future. She also noted that Naruto's behavior around young children would've made him ideal father material—and as she thought about it more, she came to realize that this was more incentive to have him marry her. Now if she could just work up the spine to ask him out on a date so that she could finally get to work on seducing his brains out gradually if not successfully on the first try.

Oh, she knew the other two were looking at her man…frankly, Meilan had no problems with them starting a harem, but that didn't mean she was willing to give Naruto up without a fight—if those girls wanted to marry Naruto-kun, they'd have to earn her approval first…whether they like it or not. And since she was currently the stopgap between Naruto and his honor, she vowed to make it difficult for any girl to try and make a move for him.

By the end of the festival, all three girls were found sitting around the boy of their affections with cups of tea in their hands. "I guess it's time to go," he finally said, "it was nice to finally see you two again."

Meilan picked up Naruto's hand and turned to Tenten and Hinata. "We had a great time Hinata-chan, thank-you!"

"You're welcome you two!"

The two of them waved as they started leaving, with Meilan leading Naruto by the hand back to their apartment. Being the host of her little party, Hinata had started seeing her guests to the door—it was polite to do so after all. Tenten and Lee had followed Neji as they too were invited…the look of intense jealousy shared between Tenten and Hinata was very clear—although that jealousy seemed to have lightened up with Meilan by just a margin, it was still there. Lee on the other hand looked on at confusion at the sight before him, but simply shrugged it off as women embracing the flames of youth—and a boy for that matter.

Little did they know, a stalker was following the both of them in the shadows…a stalker with white and grateful eyes directed at Naruto, silently thanking him for saving her from that mean Inuzuka boy… "You can pursue him you know."

The Hyuuga stalker turned her head quickly upon hearing those words, and found herself seeing the head of the clan looking down on her in amusement. "If he is on your mind so much, then pursue his heart…and don't mind the other girls' jealousy—because Naruto is the last of the Uzumaki Clan." The stalker's eyes widened in realization—that meant that she could share Naruto with the other girls! But then again, why spoil the fun by telling them? The Hyuuga stalker simply chuckled darkly—before her thoughts turned to how she was going to get a piece of Naruto's heart…

…

_**A/N: Oh dear…now just who is our little stalker? A bit shorter than usual, I know and for that I apologize, but just so you know, there will be a poll going on as to which team Naruto will be placed in. You can vote as to which sensei he will get, and then you can tell me who his team members are in the review. If you like this story so much then please vote, would you kindly? It would help with my thought process if you do. I'm also taking guesses as to which Hyuuga is joining Hinata in the harem from your comments.**_

…

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Theme of Sakura" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Hinata leads Naruto and Meilan to the Hyuuga Compound**_

"_**Evil" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Kiba's torture**_

"_**Theme of Neji" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Naruto tells a story**_

"_**Ephemeral Dream" by Ryuichi Takada from "Soul Calibur III"—the Hyuuga Bond Festival**_

…

_**Vocabulary/Culture Notes:**_

_**Nami—a Japanese name, meaning 'wave'.**_

_**Katana Inspection Etiquette—when you hold someone else's katana in your hand with the intent to inspect it, you must show it the proper etiquette as you would a regular person, and so you must bow before the sword before doing so.**_

_**Hamon—the temper line of a katana**_

_**Masamune—a very famous Japanese swordsmith from the Bizen province often regarded as the best of the best. His name has always been associated with katana, and so it's no surprise that you find his name on many of the best katana in the "Final Fantasy" universe.**_

_**Mizu-hime—a name, it means 'water princess'**_


	8. Duels and Investigations

**_A/N: And now we see the results of the twins' training…and we confirm that Anko is indeed in the harem. In addition, we'll be seeing GSD again. Not much to say other than my disappointment that nobody has voted on my poll…how sad. In any case, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Streets of Konoha near the Ninja Academy Training Grounds, four months later…]

She loved dango…she loved the texture…she loved the shape…she loved the variety in flavor…she even loved the various methods in which she could savor the taste of each and every little ball. Now don't get her wrong…Anko liked other foods, even mochi (being the big brother of the dango ball), it's just that dango conquered her heart first—especially the ones that corresponded with her name. As she walked down the streets of Konoha, enjoying the green tea-flavored goodness of today's special, she decided to take advantage of her break to investigate the status of a certain blond Jinchuuriki…she hadn't had the chance to come on out in a while, given that she was torturing an Iwa spy half to death. The good thing about it was that she won that bet with Ibiki earlier over who would break the poor rock-headed dumbass first—the amount of dango she had purchased normally would've put a dent in her paycheck…a shame however, that said Iwa spy would not be enjoying the proceeds of her victory, nor would he be tasting the sweet taste of victory she was currently enjoying.

In any case, she was walking down to the Ninja Academy to go check up on Naruto. Last time they spoke, Kurenai had said that he had gotten stronger since she last saw him. She didn't want to think about it—when she was there in Naruto's rescue that night before he left on that training trip of his, she counted all the wounds on his body that had healed…several broken ribs, a slashed throat, and a formerly severed arm among others. Needless to say, after that event, she found that she enjoyed torturing her victims even more when said victims have harmed that boy. She didn't know why, but something about him seemed to make her curse mark react in such a manner as to make her want to be closer to him…now that he has that apparently demonic arm, the feeling had intensified to the point that it was like it wanted her to knock him down, tear off every inch of his clothes, and then ravage him on the spot regardless if they were in public or not.

As she continued to eat each ball of her green tea dango very slowly, she found herself at her intended destination—supposedly Kurenai was standing at this very spot doing her early scouting mission for potential candidates for students. Anko watched as the site was getting prepared—the taijutsu final would involve fighting the teachers, but until then, all matches were student vs. student; that much she knew from her time in the Ninja Academy. She watched as Iruka was preparing the dummies for the current competition before committing to sparring again—target practice.

She simply watched as many of the students were hurling shuriken left and right, trying to get their aim right. Anko laughed to herself in bitter amusement—many of those kids were going to die, especially the fan-girls, considering that they put more time on wearing makeup than they did on studying! She watched as the Uchiha twins took to the firing range, and prepared their kunai and shuriken for throwing—Sasuke was first, throwing each knife and shuriken with a lot of power behind them, practically destroying the dummy as the thrown blades over-penetrated the dummy. Tsukiko on the other hand, simply focused more on speed, and hit the next dummy with her throwing blades to ensure her target did not escape. Neither twin had scored any less than nine out of ten hits with a shuriken, and ten with kunai. Next up was Hyuuga Hinata—her scores were eight hits out of ten with both throwing implements, and then all the way up to Inuzuka Kiba. Anko never really liked Kiba so much—the little perv got what he deserved as far as she was concerned…the boy was really a close-up fighter, so it was no surprise that he had scored five out of ten hits with shuriken and seven out of ten with kunai. The most pathetic score however, went to Haruno Sakura—that screaming banshee was only there because she wanted to seduce Sasuke, because she could store a lot of theoretical information in that hideously large forehead of hers, and because her useless Civilian Councilwoman of a mother was fucking the headmaster who also happened to be a Naruto-hater. No, she never liked the Haruno family one bit—okay, that wasn't true because there were a few exceptions; Sayuri, her friend and appointed supplier of dango, was an example of the 'black sheep' in the family. But aside from those exceptions, she didn't like the Haruno family by and large.

As she watched that spoiled little Haruno girl walk out of the arena with her pathetic score of four hits with shuriken and three with kunai, Anko watched as Naruto walked on down to the arena. It was embarrassing how she felt her nether-regions starting to heat up upon seeing him and his pectorals…it also broke her heart what she heard from Uchiha Mikoto—but then again, she still wanted to look into the fog of those cataracts…to see what mysteries where behind those mist-covered blue eyes. She continued to watch as the table was placed in front of Naruto. His response was to poke his finger into his mouth, and then raise it above his head to point it in all directions and then nod in satisfaction…then he wiped his finger on his vest and then started throwing a shuriken, eliciting a heavy 'thunk' from the impact before he started picking up and throwing each and every implement at the dummy—earning him a ten out of ten on both weapons rather quickly.

It was then that Anko understood why he did what he did with his finger! He was calculating wind speed and direction so that when he threw his shuriken and kunai, they would fly faster and stronger! It also seemed…hot to her when he did that…like a bondage scene where she would…her thoughts were interrupted when she realized exactly what she was thinking. No way! What crossed her mind was nothing short of statutory rape—she'd get thrown in prison for such an act! But then again, her mind had reminded her of the fact that as soon as Naruto graduates from the academy, he's fair game…but for now, she'll have to be patient and settle for that pornographic image in her head…in addition to watching the fun as students kicked the crap out of each other in the spars; and she had plenty of dango in that paper bag of hers to enjoy the show…

…

[Ninja Academy Training Grounds, an hour and a half later…]

Iruka sighed—while he was proud of several of his students, he couldn't say the same for the majority. A good deal of the civilian boys had gotten better…some were even meeting the standard for a ninja graduate, but others were more concerned with trying to win the hearts of the top-five girls in the class. This was the case with the majority of the girls—a lot of them were too busy fawning over Sasuke to care about their studies, although some starting to join a fan-club for Naruto with Ino being the apparent president. The only good thing about the Naruto fan-club was that the apparent requirement for membership was that the girl had to want to get stronger…which was in fact an improvement for those girls—not by much, but at least it made them study more. Sakura on the other hand, was not happy that the number of Sasuke fan-girls were dwindling—and the fact that Sasuke was a part of the apparent fan-club for Naruto didn't help matters any when said fan-girls joined the Naruto fan-club just to get to Sasuke. Still, what he thought of those die-hard Sasuke-loyalists was simple: it was their loss.

He had watched as many of the students beat each other to a pulp—and the majority of the boys had finally broken out of their stalemates to compete against the clan children and Naruto. Unfortunately, they never stood a chance…and then came the girls' matches—the founding members of the Naruto fan-club had proven to be every bit as competent as the boys when they beat down the competition. Nobody was able to stand up to the ninja children—then came the matches of ninja vs. ninja: As he was about to announce the first fighters, the twins appeared before Iruka.

"We're sorry for the interruption Iruka-sensei…" began Sasuke.

"…but we have a bit of a special request for the first match of the finals…" finished Tsukiko.

Now this had his attention…what could the twins possibly want? "I'm listening."

Sasuke simply grinned—he was waiting for this day! Perhaps today was the day that he would get even for that week of free ramen he had to pay for the dobe…although treating the idiot actually made him feel good then, it still hurt his pride and wallet. "Our mother has been teaching us in the art of the sword…"

Tsukiko was excited at the prospects of seeing where she stood when faced against Naruto. Her mother had been training them quite hard in the art of kenjutsu, and she wanted to actually test herself…maybe even get a shot at that fine ass of Naruto's. "…and we want to test our skills against the only other swordsman in class…"

It was here that both twins finished at the same time. "…and so with your express permission we'd like to borrow some shinai from the academy in order to challenge Uzumaki Naruto to a sword duel."

Iruka had considered his options with their request…and saw no problems with it. "Very well then…if the three of you will just wait here…"

Five minutes had passed, and Iruka finally returned with three shinai. "Okay then, the two of you can fight Naruto in a one-on-one duel each. The rules are simple—one mortal strike ends the match…so any unblocked blow to the stomach, neck, and head will result in a loss. Also, if you are forced out of the ring, that also loses you the match. You may use chakra, but you may not use any jutsu…the use of any jutsu at any point in the match will disqualify you automatically, understood?"

The three fighters nodded…the first up to fight was Sasuke. Even in the second that both him and Naruto had arrived at the stands, the grin had never left his face—he now had a chance to get even, and the power to fight his opponent on a level playing field…Mikoto had increased the weights in their training regimen, and so now they were even stronger. It won't be long now...all he has to do is avenge Itachi's treachery against the family, and then there will no longer be any need for the deception! Sasuke stood facing down his opponent—sword raised in the air prepped and ready to strike down on his opponent. The die-hard Sasuke fan-girls were cheering…hoping that their idol would finally beat down this blind and hunky eyesore and show him his place! They were hoping that if they couldn't have Sasuke, then they'd have his opponent as a slave at the very least…and a very hot slave at that. Naruto simply stood in a ready stance with his sword behind him—as usual, he was using only one hand as his left arm was right in front of him. Sasuke could only ponder as to why his opponent only fought one-handed…granted, he was powerful enough with only one hand as evidenced by how badly he was beaten the first time he dueled with swords against Naruto, but it still begged the question as to why he wouldn't use both hands.

He simply shrugged off his question, and switched from the high jodan no kamae his mother taught him to properly use, to the low gedan no kamae…and then charged his opponent silently hoping his lack of a battle-cry would improve his odds. The second he swung that sword from the hip, he watched as Naruto switched from the normal grip to an underhanded grip before getting to one knee and intercepting his opponent's shinai with his and using his left arm to reinforce the block before pushing the blade away and using that momentum to swing his shinai upwards. Sasuke immediately intercepted that swing and immediately countered with a thrust before Naruto spun away from the attack and mischievously tapped the blade of his shinai at his opponent's left butt-cheek. Oh he was going to pay now! As much as the girly side of him wanted to feel that spank again, Sasuke's main emotion at the moment was rage—and that showed when he started swinging his shinai rather quickly and getting closer and closer. Naruto soon realized his mistake as many of the blows were too quick for him to block, and so it forced him on the defensive…he needed to end this quickly! With one well-timed power-strike, he knocked away Sasuke's shinai, spun around, and locked the edge of his shinai against Sasuke's throat…

Before he could struggle, Sasuke heard those words from Naruto. "Fast and deadly…reminds me of Uchiha Tsukiko."

Sasuke's eyes widened as his muscles tensed in shock…he could tell him apart from his sister now? How could this be? But then again, he could only grin…this was but the first step in which Tsukiko would be honest with the boy she came to love…yes, love: the emotion that seemed to be shared with Satsuki regarding the same boy, the girl that was disguised as her at the very moment.

"Maybe we can treat you to ramen some time after this?"

This time, Naruto whispered in Sasuke's ear. "I'm looking forward to it one day…but we've still got to hold up your disguise; so…" at this point, Naruto's voice had increased enough for everyone to hear. "Do you surrender?" Sasuke feigned a look of defeat in his eyes. "Yes, I surrender."

As Naruto released his opponent from the grab he held, he then had to deal with the screaming banshees that made up the die-hard Sasuke fan-girls as they booed him from the stands. Accusations of cheating, homosexuality, and sexual harassment were being fired at him—a shame that none of them knew the truth of Uchiha Sasuke's gender, nor did they know of his true identity. They then watched with a bit of pride that at least an Uchiha would put this baka in place…even if it was Uchiha Tsukiko that would do the deed. "I hope you're ready Naruto-kun," she said, her voice starting to take on a slight nasal tone to it, as she took on the chudan no kamae stance, "because unlike brother-dearest, I never make the same mistake twice."

Upon hearing this, even the girls started having a nosebleed—this was the sexiest voice they'd ever heard Tsukiko make. Naruto simply stood at the ready with his sword behind him in one arm. Oh he was ready for this. "You want a piece of me? Then come and get me Uchiha, I'm just dying to dance with you."

The amused look on Tsukiko's face was clear. Not only did he realize the difference between the twins, but she also knew what he meant by 'dance'. "What kind of gentleman invites a lady to a dance and then makes her come to him?"

Her opponent's response was simple—he grinned widely as he answered, "The kind that is very patient and would like for the lady to make the first move."

"Fine then…if you insist!"

Tsukiko began the fight by switching to judan no kamae, and charging her opponent intent on swinging down the shinai upon Naruto's shoulder. Naruto smirked and swung upward…but to his surprise, Tsukiko quickly changed the direction of her swing and brought the shinai down upon his, and the two bamboo blades met—and Naruto found himself exerting more force to hold the swing before Tsukiko softened her grip and forcing Naruto to clumsily follow through with his movement. Once she saw the opportunity, she made an attempt to strike him in the torso for what would be a killing blow…victory was hers until Naruto changed the grip of his shinai at the last moment and drove the tip down to the ground in order to stop the strike at the last moment, exerting all the force in his arm to hold it there before he moved in closer to drive Tsukiko back with an elbow. "Impressive," he said, tension building up from the excitement, "besides Meilan, you're about the only person I can fight seriously with."

"If you really were serious about fighting, you'd have used both hands…and I know you're capable of using that left hand of yours—strange and dangerous-looking as it is, you can still use it properly."

"I'm only holding back because it simply makes the duels more interesting…"

"Well let's see how interesting you find this!" Before anybody could react, Tsukiko charged Naruto at point-blank with the intent of knocking that shinai out of his hand and going for the kill…until she saw Naruto disappear, and then realizing that he was about to end this duel with a downward strike aimed at her head which she managed to block. Unfortunately for Tsukiko, that single block had sealed her fate: as the strike that was aimed for her head was rather light, and then she felt Naruto spin around and strike her from the front and across the stomach, ending the duel with his back to her. Once Naruto put down the sword, and Tsukiko did the same, she watched as he turned to face her wishing he could see the look of satisfaction on her face. Before long, Sasuke also walked on up to Naruto to stand next to his sister…and then both twins bowed from their hips at their adversary.

"We thank you for the duel…" began Sasuke.

"…and now we know that we've still a long ways to go…" continued Tsukiko.

"…we look forward to sparring with you again at another time."

"But until then…"

"…make sure you're ready for the day we beat you." They both finished at the same time…satisfied with what they had to say before they went up the stands. Naruto simply grinned…it was a good fight and he enjoyed it. As he walked up the stands with the Uchiha twins, he could not help but have chills of excitement at the prospect of fighting both twins at once…

…

[Nearby the Ninja Academy Training Grounds…]

Anko had seen it! Naruto was fighting well against two Uchiha in a row! Although that spanking he performed on Sasuke seemed to be a dirty and perverted trick, she also found it to be kinky…wishing she were in that girl's place getting spanked instead. Yes, she knew the secret of the twins—and Yamanaka Inoichi only had himself to blame for letting it slip…and he knew that snippet of information because, aside from the flower shop and the Torture and Interrogation department, his job was to erase the memories of anyone who found out that both of the Uchiha twins were girls. Good thing he never found out that Anko was around the corner, and listening when he spoke of them.

She understood why the secret was kept—the days before she became an ANBU member were still fresh in her mind. It was only thanks to Old Man Hokage that she had been saved from rape attempts. Naruto on the other hand was not as lucky…as there were a good number of rape attempts made at him, some of which were successful (she had stepped in many times to save him, and there were few times when she was too late) and many of which were perpetrated by men. She took more pleasure from torturing those offenders than any other…as those men found themselves less so by the time she was done with them. She was also there to comfort him whenever his friend Tenten was not around to be there for him whenever it happened…good thing for them too, because she was certain that girl would not settle for anything less than personally castrating every man responsible for Naruto's misery. Anko was on the other hand, surprised that he found himself comfortable with physical contact with other people—perhaps that Baihe girl was responsible for healing that part of him.

All other thoughts aside, she found herself satisfied with her free pornography of Naruto's body, and her bag of dango empty as she had eaten them all. All Anko had to do was wait for the gaki to graduate, and then she was free to work her feminine wiles on him, in order to show him how to love a woman properly…and all the while, show him how sex should be done properly. But in the meantime, she could take her anger at some people of the village out on the next unfortunate prisoner that found his way into the T&I department…and if that prisoner happened to be a woman, then all the better in order to vent out her sexual frustration!

…

[Near the Ninja Academy, almost an hour after class…]

Naruto and Meilan had just gotten out of class when they had been stopped briefly. "Naruto-kun! Meilan-chan!" called Tenten, running towards them, "How are the two of you?"

"We're fine, thank-you Tenten," said Meilan, pulling Naruto closer to her, "how are you this fine day?"

"Oh fine…my dad wanted to meet Naruto-kun though…said he wanted to take a look at his weapons."

"My weapons?"

"He did say something along those lines. Said since he wants to meet you, he may as well inspect your weapons for you as well…perhaps even sharpen them a bit."

Naruto seemed to consider that. He never did meet Tenten's dad…although given the fact that several of the parents he met so far were nicer to him did not lift enough of his wariness around a lot of other people. He only managed to start trusting other people again after training under GSD-sensei, and then it only got better when Meilan came into his life. But then again, where was the harm in meeting her father? He had more to gain than to lose by going…at least he'll learn if her father was one of those stupid animals that call themselves human beings. "I'll come," he said, "after all I may never know when I'll be using my weapons again…maybe you can get yourself something you'll like too Meilan."

Her eyes had brightened up upon hearing that. Meilan had in fact been looking for some fighting gloves for a while now…although she could've sworn that there was an ulterior motive behind it on Tenten's part, she knew she also wanted some cool weapons in order to be ready to fight. Maybe while she's at it, she'll get a wedding ring prepared for herself…

Little did they know that as they were leaving the Academy Grounds, glares were being directed at Tenten…a pair of very jealous and very Uchiha glares peering out from around the corner, and on top of each other; oh, it'll be a cold day in the thirteen basement floors of Hell before they would be outdone by the Weapons-Mistress of Konoha!

…

[Elsewhere…]

The sun was setting…and the grassy plain was splattered with blood violently expelled from their bodies and from the dismembered stumps found on various ninja. Some of the unfortunate victims were burnt away until there was not even a drop of fat on their charred bones…others were frozen while their unfortunate colleagues were impaled by ice spikes behind them. There were no survivors…and each ninja wore a hitae-ate with a musical note on it, denoting that they were all ninja from Otogakure no Sato. Scratch that, there was only one survivor, and he was trembling in fear before the blind old man that had just decapitated another of his colleagues with a katana. The body fell to the ground on its knees as the arterial spray rose like a fountain in front of the old man before he used his free hand to gently push the body back.

The old man flicked the blood off the blade of his katana, and then turned his attention to the last remaining Oto ninja. "I must apologize for the mess," he began, as he started walking towards him, drawing his short sword, "but you refused to give me the information I required. Tell me what I want to know, and I may let you live depending on how useful your information is."

The tremors wracking the ninja's body were such that it would not be out of place if he had urinated on himself. He was not even holding his kunai with a steady hand. "B-b-b-bullshit! Y-y-you're j-j-just g-g-g-gonna k-k-k-kill m-me a-a-a-as s-s-s-s-soon as I tell y-y-y-you anything!"

The blind swordsman's response was to sigh, as he quickly closed the distance and cut the ninja's kunai-holding hand off before pointing the edge of the blade against his neck as soon as he was on his knees from the pain. "I will kill you now if you don't tell me anything. But if you tell me what I want to know, then you'll at least have a chance for survival. Now tell me, what is your master up to?"

"You may as well kill him now GSD," said a voice hiding in the tree-line, "those ninja from Oto are die-hard loyalists to their leader. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to take his own life just to spite you." The Oto-nin turned to see just who it was that spoke…walking in an iron-grey shinobi shozoku and a red vest over it and on a pair of geta was an old man with a forehead protector with the kanji for 'oil' on it. Damn it! This was Jiraiya of the Sannin! This just was not his day today…and then his eyes had widened in both fear and shock when he had heard the name that was apparently in reference to the old man before him. Oh he'd heard stories in the shadows about this man—they say he was such a great swordsman that he even taught the Rikudo Sennin himself!

"Jiraiya, it has been a long time," began GSD, not taking sword or his attention off the dying Oto-nin, "although I do have to ask; what are you doing here?"

"After hearing rumors that you were looking for something, I decided to track you down. I thought perhaps we were after the same thing."

"If you speak of those ten rogue ninja that are chasing after the bijuu, then I can tell you here and now that this is a matter I have no interest in at the moment. My concern is that of a greedy coward doing something very evil and very foolish…and I aim to stop him before he continues what he's doing."

Jiraiya had a look of surprise on his face, before it had melted into confidence. "And what if I tell you that I have information for you to help in your investigation?"

"Is that so?"

The Oto-nin saw that the two old men were distracted, and began to reach for the pull-string to the explosive tags lining his robes. If he was going down, he may as well take these two old farts with him! No sooner than he touched the ring of the pull-string, his last view was of the world falling down, and then he saw his own body, and Old-Man GSD's sword having moved across his shoulders. "I'm listening…"

…

**_A/N: I wonder what Higurashi Hiten wants to speak to Naruto about? And just who is GSD looking for, that he would be willing to trade information with Jiraiya? All this and more in the next chapter of "Naruto: The Dark Knight". Also, I'm getting disappointed that nobody is adding anything to the poll on my account…your input would help greatly in what decisions I make for the future chapters people, so please don't be afraid to vote._**

…

**_Slayer Techniques:_**

**_Guard—Blademaster_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Anko's walk_**

"**_Confrontation" by Junichi Nakatsuru from "Soul Calibur III"—Naruto vs. the Uchiha Twins_**

"**_Infernal Offering" by Masaharu Iwata from "Soul Calibur IV"—GSD's battle_**

"**_Battle Stations" by Masashi Hamauzu from "Musashiden II: Blademaster"—Naruto meets Higurashi Hiten_**

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Dango—a small ball-shaped dumpling related to the mochi, often served with several of them skewered with a sharp stick in much the same way as a shish kebab. This is usually a sweet dish._**

**_Anko's name—Anko's name is actually a play on two kinds of dango; 'anko' is the sweet Chinese red bean (known as 'adzuki' in Japanese), while 'mitarashi' is a kind of sweet syrup made with soy sauce._**

**_Jodan no kamae—a kendo stance where the sword is positioned above the wielder's head_**

**_Gedan no kamae—a kendo stance where the sword is held low and the tip behind the wielder_**

**_Chudan no kamae—a kendo stance where the sword is held in front in a 45-degree angle_**

**_Shinobi shozoku—the stereotypical ninja outfit…may or may not have a hood_**

**_Priest—a class in Dungeon Fighter Online…at the moment, there is only a male priest, but there is a possibility for a female counterpart later. The priest is a large man that specializes in using the cross, rosary, scythe, totem, and giant axe as well as healing spells. His subclasses are Crusader (does a lot of tanking, buffing, supporting, and healing), Monk (uses a technique called "Will Driver" to create a ward that buffs him up while using a lot of boxing-style moves such as ducking and throwing), Exorcist (uses a lot of talismans, and has the most weapon masteries of the priest subclasses), and the Avenger (the newest class, specializes particularly in using the scythe, and can transform into a demon…he can also trade HP for MP). Senju Tsunade would fit under the Monk subclass, while Higurashi Hiten is an Exorcist._**


	9. The Blacksmith

**_A/N: And now we finally spend some time quality time getting to know who Higurashi Hiten is…a copy of the works of Shan-Yu the Psychotic Dictator won't be necessary. We'll be having a bit of drama in this chapter, and a bit more regrets in love. No combat just yet. Read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Higurashi Arsenal…]

The 'ping-ping-ping' of a blacksmith's hammer filled the air of the workshop as it struck down upon the short blade that was being forged. Unlike kunai and shuriken that could be factory-pressed, a quality blade like this was a labor of love. It was of the tsurugi pattern with a wide blade—it was based on a foreign sword he believed was called a 'gladius', and it would be having a twin very soon; a special order for Mikoto to be given as a gift to one of the twins…the faster one he assumed, given the fact that this short sword he was making was catered specifically to a speedy fighter, while the stronger twin was getting a full-sized katana later. He only hoped she didn't get **_that_** katana…the damn thing was nothing but trouble for anyone using it from the day the Uchiha first found it, and poor Mikoto had to fucking learn that the hard way…although it was a smart idea to keep that thing only as an heirloom only—that sword would only kill anyone stupid enough to wield it.

Ah yes, Mikoto…Hiten never did understand what she saw in that power-hungry dick-head Fugaku to have his children. He was only sad that not all of the Uchiha were assholes like him…although he still did have a few friends in that family, by and large the Uchiha needed to be exterminated except for that handful he actually respected. Another thing he never understood was why the Haruno family needed to be around…true, Sayuri is an example of such exceptions in the family, but like the Uchiha, they were not good people in general. He'd even heard rumors that the head of the family was screwing the headmaster, and getting everything she wanted on a silver platter so long as she gave him ass. Yep, among the families he didn't like, it was those two who were on his top-ten offender list.

He simply pushed all thoughts aside, and continued to hammer the blade into its proper shape. Being a tsurugi meant that it would have two edges, thus making it a little more difficult than a katana to make…but he's made such blades before. In fact, he's made bigger and heavier…he paused from his forging in order to inspect his progress. Yes, this was a good work, if he had to say so himself…he may not be up to standard with the masters in Tetsu no Kuni, but his family was the best in Konoha. Also like his peers in Tetsu, he was required to have schooling in priest work—a necessary component for making swords really come alive as it requires a spiritual aspect to make swords and explosive tags. It was also due to his skills as a priest that successful exorcisms were performed, which meant that summoned creatures were easily dispatched of—exorcised summons didn't die by his hand so much as they were forcefully sent back to the summoning dimension…and then he eyed the tool of the trade for such an act. It was a massive battle-axe with holy seals stuck on the blade that he had made long ago when he led the civilian militia—and this was during the days when sometimes enemy ninja would trounce on in and attack civilians. Ha! Those were the days…he really missed seeing those ninja looking stupid as he sent their summons back with a swing of his axe before decapitating them with it.

Hiten paused momentarily to wipe the sweat off his forehead…he'd been going at it for a few hours now, and he needed to stop for a bit. He then started contemplating on the first day he met Uchiha Mikoto—it was in the defense of Konoha when Iwa had managed to sneak some of their ninja into the village disguised as merchants. Leading the civilian militia, he had aided in bringing down the enemy ninja despite the fact that he himself was a civilian. He was busy fighting off a ninja that relied on his summoned creatures to fight when one of his colleagues snuck up on him and was about to stab him in the back—that ninja never succeeded because the ANBU had returned to Konoha just in time as a bit of a vanguard for the rest of the returning Konoha ninja. The ANBU that had saved his life then was a ninja no taller than the bottom of his pectoral muscles by the name of Uchiha Mikoto…and she came to him praising him of his prowess with his axe and his paper talismans. He in turn thanked her for saving his life by giving her a discount on all things in his arsenal.

Suffice to say, they soon became fast friends—as Mikoto found herself returning to the arsenal on a regular basis. Sometimes they simply talked, sometimes she also went shopping in the store for that odd kunai or whetstone for her work as a ninja; but over time, it was clear to the both of them at the time that a connection was being formed between them that transcended mere platonic friendship. It was eventually realized that the two of them had crossed the line that made them friends, then the one that made them family, to that final line where they became lovers—yes, life was good…until the day she came to his arsenal with tears in her eyes, and the news that she had been married off. He wasn't surprised that their relationship would end badly…she was a member of the Uchiha Elite after all, and he was but a mere peasant by comparison. No, it wasn't the news that she was caught up in an arranged marriage that hurt him—hell, if it were anyone else, he would've at least tried to be happy for her and the lucky bastard…it was **_who_** she was being married off to that really pissed him off.

When he heard that Uchiha Fugaku was marrying Mikoto, it really made him mad! Hiten knew who Fugaku was as a person because every time someone came to vandalize and rob his arsenal, it was always Fugaku that first came to mind due to the fact that he left graffiti on his walls that said stuff like 'that should teach you your place you filthy peasant!', 'Baka! Baka! Baka!', 'your stuff is not even good for kitchenware!' and even 'Uchiha Fugaku did this!' Yes, he knew that Uchiha Fugaku was an asshole, and it didn't surprise him at all that the bastard was also power-hungry—a trait that would bring him his karma later on in life. At the time, Hiten knew he couldn't do anything about it…arranged marriages were acceptable and tended to be sacred, and so the only thing he could do was hug the woman he had loved in those strong arms of his, and hold her for as long as he could. He took in her scent, the feel of her petite body against his, and even the vibrations of her crying in his chest.

He could only let out a tear of sadness at the memory…this was a love he had always wondered as to the possibilities with. Eventually, the hole in his heart was mended when a ninja came into his shop—a ninja named Kikuchi Mina walked into his store…the woman who would eventually be his wife and the mother of his beautiful little princess Tenten. Hiten wiped the tear off his face—crying about regrets was not what Mina had wanted of him…she knew about his doomed relationship with Mikoto by word of mouth, and on her deathbed, she made him promise to above all, not cry over her death and that he would find happiness again. He soon took up the hammer, and began to pound away at the metal for the tsurugi he was making. Just as he had started bringing the hammer down, Hiten had heard that damn chime ringing again!

Fuck! Shit! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Shit! Fuck! Fuck! He never should have installed that damn chime! He should've just taken that damn annoying bell and smashed it into a thousand fucking pieces! He simply started grumbling every curse word he had on his tongue at this point as he started walking into the counter with a rage-filled glaze in his eyes. "ALL RIGHT YOU MOTHER-FUC…"

"DAD! What did mom tell you about cursing in front of potential customers?"

Hiten's mouth had started grinding to a halt upon hearing that sentence interrupting his tirade. It was there that his gaze had softened upon seeing his daughter…Kami she was beautiful, just like her mother. "Hi sweetie, how was your day?"

"Fine daddy! How are things at the workshop?"

"The same…I finally got a special order from Mikoto-sama."

"That's great…by the way, these are my friends; Uzumaki Naruto and Baihe Meilan."

The large man stepped forward, and inspected the young boy his daughter had brought home. Sun-kissed blond hair, three whisker marks on each cheek…yep, that's Kushina's kid all right. Hiten simply bowed from his hips at Naruto. "A pleasure to meet you Naruto-kun."

Naruto returned the bow. "The pleasure is mine sir."

As he looked even further at the blond, he could not help but feel responsible for the boy's situation. True, it was his brother's fault, but Hiten felt that he could have done more—of course he'd heard of the many attempts to adopt the poor boy from Mikoto herself when she found the time to visit him…and he believed her; he was among the people that tried…hell, even his other favorite customers Hayate and Yuugao had tried to adopt him. "Tenten, be a dear and take Naruto's friend shopping around the arsenal."

"Okay daddy."

Once Hiten saw that he was alone with the boy, he turned to face Naruto. "Okay then, if you'll just follow me this way, I'd like to check on your weapons…"

…

[Elsewhere…]

The rumbling of caravan wheels was the dominant sound on the road as GSD sat in the wagon carrying many goods. "Hey, old timer! You comfy back there?"

The older man turned to the driver. "Everything is fine sir, thank-you."

"So what are you doing out here? I'd think someone of your age would be sitting at home, and reading newspapers."

GSD could only chuckle to himself. "I would, but I am a bit of a vagrant—add to the fact that I like the outdoors more. And besides, I have business with a certain snake out in the world doing something foolish; I was hoping that perhaps I could…make him see reason."

"He's only human, but I suppose he's a relative?"

"No…simply a very foolish man that I've heard nothing but rumors about. I only hope that he's willing to listen."

Foolish indeed…Jiraiya had just provided him with useful information…apparently, the person he was looking for was known as Orochimaru—he didn't know what that man was up to, but GSD knew that either way it was not good. Apparently, Orochimaru was Jiraiya's teammate when they were younger…the bad news was that he didn't know where the snake was hiding; but he did mention a place called Otogakure no Sato. Now he had a destination—his job now was to get to wherever this character was, and then question him…last Jiraiya heard, this monster was somewhere in Otogakure…waiting…watching…biding his time for the opportunity to strike like the venomous snake he was.

In exchange for that bit of information, Jiraiya had received what he knew and heard of the ten rogue ninja that were chasing after Bijuu…rumor had it that these ten rogue ninja were organized under a group known as Akatsuki, and they were kage-level ninja if the rumors were true. According to what GSD had heard from interrogating one of the spies for the organization, Akatsuki was not making its move yet—he did not know when, nor did he know where, but when it does happen, it would be a highly devastating attack…that much he knew from experience. He'll just have to wait and see what it is that they're up to, but in the meantime, he started to catch up in his nap. No point in fighting a war on an empty stomach…much less so with insomnia.

GSD had thought back to the last point of their meeting—because Jiraiya had proposed a sort of trade afterwards. The arrangement was simple…after that point he would use a small group from his spy network to gain information on Orochimaru to trade with him for any rumors he happens across in his travels regarding Akatsuki. When asked how he would find the younger elder, Jiraiya simply told him not to bother—he'll find him. Perhaps it was time he worked with someone…his progress on his investigation was getting rather slow, and besides it never hurt to have someone scratch his back…

…

[Higurashi Arsenal…]

He could not believe it…as he studied the weapons that Naruto had, Hiten could not help but marvel at the blades and how durable they were. The zanbato was a flat piece of highly dense iron 1.9 m long in total and was .3m wide at the tip as it started shrinking down and down to become a handle…the blade was unremarkable in its design as it had a closer resemblance to a meat cleaver with a long blade than an actual sword. There was no handguard due to its resemblance to a cleaver, but it did have a .45m handle made of wood and wrapped in leather.

The next sword that he inspected came to an extreme in size—it was a short sword with a 1m-long blade and a .3m handle. It was one of those short swords that Kumogakure no Sato ninja tended to favor to the point that, like the zanbato he was studying, it too became a standard-issue weapon—it wasn't too long, and it wasn't too short, it was just right. Frankly, Hiten was impressed by the smiths that forged these blades due to the practical applications deliberately put into making these swords—it was long enough that it provided enough reach for a good two-handed slash, was aerodynamically-designed with two edges in order to make it easy for thrusting and stabbing, and was still short enough to be thrown in any manner.

Then he came to the final sword that really stood out…so this was the famous Masamune katana that Tenten had told him about! Such a work of art—it balanced practicality with beauty in one fell swoop. He eyeballed the length of its blade to be about 140cm long, so this was a little bit over standard. Yes, this seems to have been inspired by waves and by water—the final masterpiece of the great Masamune himself…a shame the poor man died, Hiten would've liked to go to Tetsu no Kuni himself and take personal lessons from him. As he inspected the edge of the sword, he noted that it was extremely sharp—there was something special about this sword, he knew that much…it was something never before seen in that treatise that had been written on the art of forging a sword. "Very good choices you have here," he finally said, "two of your swords are standard-issue weapons that are reliable—your katana however, is a true masterpiece. Tenten told me that you got this sword while you were in Tetsu no Kuni."

"Yeah…a swordsmith by the name of Masamune gave it to me. He told me to take extra special care of it…"

"And I can see why. This sword is worth millions if not billions of ryo—and given that this was the final work of the greatest swordsmith in the world, I wouldn't be surprised."

The look of curiosity on Naruto's face was clear. "What do you mean 'final work'? What happened to Masamune-san?"

Fuck! He just remembered that Tenten asked him not to tell the boy that Masamune was dead. Hiten sucked in a deep breath, and let out a huff of shame—he should not have said this out loud. "I shouldn't have…"

The look of curiosity had melded into one of concern. "What happened to him?"

Hiten sighed…he really didn't know how the boy would take it. "Masamune, the man who gave you this sword, has died almost three years ago. This katana was his final masterpiece."

The forlorn look on Naruto's face had been clear…he had wanted to visit Old-man Masamune again…then again he shouldn't have been surprised. Masamune did seem to have a weakened chakra signature…it was like he was going to die soon anyway. "How did you hear of this?"

"It was by rumor that I learned of this. Smiths of all trades tend to talk, and so news of his death spread like wildfire…his death had hit the bladesmith community pretty hard."

"Did you hear how he died?"

"It was known by smiths worldwide that he was fighting a disease called leukemia, which made it so that he said that he would not make another sword for a time, in addition to his loss of inspiration. Apparently, he was seen in his home with his relatives and students dying in peace and in bed…with a smile on his face. His last words a few minutes before he finally passed were 'thanks for the inspiration, now don't disappoint me boy!'…nobody knew who the boy was that he was talking about, but he had a look of hope and excitement on his face when he said it."

Naruto could not believe his ears…Old-man Masamune had left him a message from beyond the grave! It was then that Hiten watched as his sadness was exchanged for a look of determination—and so he finally knew who Masamune was referring to in his last moments. He then looked to the sky as if to speak with the God of Swordsmiths himself…and with that, he made a silent promise. 'Watch Masamune…Naruto is going to make you proud!'

…

[Meanwhile…]

Sakura was walking on home…she was really disappointed that the Uchiha twins couldn't beat that blind brat at his own game! Sasuke was obviously better than that annoying sister of his…even if she was very similar to him in looks! Although a thought ran through her head…maybe she could get that baka as a slave—yeah, maybe she'll even have Ino as a slave too! And then she'll have Naruto-baka, that bitch Tsukiko, and Ino-shishi licking her feet like the dogs they are! Oh yes, so many kinky thoughts were running through that abysmally large forehead of hers that she could not help the heat that started blossoming between her legs. But first she'll have to…wait a minute, is that the twins she's seeing? As she looked on closer, she noted that she was in fact looking at the Uchiha twins! But what were they doing out here?

The curious part of her was overtaking the love she had for Sasuke at the moment…using what skills she had in the art of stealth, she started to follow the twins up to a public restroom bungalow. Once she noted that they had stopped, she immediately hid behind some bushes as they started to scan the area, as if making sure nobody was around. As soon as they were satisfied with the fact that nobody was around, the two of them went into the girl's restroom; no sooner had they had done that than Sakura's curiosity began to reach its peak. Once she saw that both twins had entered the restroom, she crept up to the entrance, and listened in.

"Are you sure you want to be doing this here Tsukiko?"

"Positive…I need to do this, or else I'm going to go crazy."

"I still don't think it's a good idea…but if you insist…"

Dirty thoughts had started filling Sakura's head at the insinuations of what she was hearing from outside the door. She was about to move closer to the entrance as she watched the twins facing each other shortly after a poof was heard…Sakura was about to get a better view when a noise had startled her. Sakura noted that the twins were now looking in her direction.

"Who's there?"

"Show yourself!"

The adrenaline rush had pumped through Sakura as she started to run…little did she know that she was being pursued. Little was she aware of a quick chop to her neck that turned her whole world black…

…

[The Restroom Building…]

"Got her!" called out Satsuki in disguise, as she dragged Whore-uno into the restroom, and propped her up against the wall, "Looks like we missed someone sis."

Tsukiko looked on at the unconscious form of Haruno Sakura. "Shit! Of all the people to catch us…UGH! Do you think she saw anything?"

"I don't know," said Satsuki as she started tying a gag into the pink-haired banshee's mouth, "and frankly, I think we should kill her just in case…just as well though, neither of us liked her anyway, so I think it'll work out. Plus, we'll be getting revenge for everything Naruto-kun has had to put up with her."

"That was fast…why not…"

"You don't think I've thought of that? Inoichi-san is out on a mission, don't you remember?"

Tsukiko was about to retort until a look of realization had crossed her face. She could only sweat-drop as she had just remembered that what her sister had just said was true. "Oh yeah! But still, do we have to kill her? I think it'll just put suspicion on us."

The sigh that left Satsuki's mouth was that of annoyance. "This is the best option we have at the moment…and if you can think of a better way Tsukiko, I'm all ears."

Upon hearing that line from her, the other Uchiha twin was about to give up quickly when she suddenly had an idea…and she started grinning that mischievous grin of hers that promised a plan was in the works; a grin that Satsuki never looked forward to seeing. "How well-versed are you in the lessons from the kunoichi classes Namida-sensei taught us girls?"

Her apprehensive look had changed to one of confusion. "I'm fair with it, why?"

The grin only seemed to widen on Tsukiko's face upon hearing her sister's response. It was there that Satsuki had finally understood what it was that her younger sister by one second was planning…it was also there that her look of realization had melted into the same mischievous cat-ate-the-canary grin her younger sister had. The twins simply chuckled ominously as to the possibilities…until they heard the Haruno-bitch stirring.

…

"What the hell happened?" she asked groggily, "Did I get hit by a runaway bull or something?" She then found herself looking towards the Uchiha twins, turning their heads to face her. She seemed to calm down when she saw Sasuke there—now that Uchiha-bitch was going to get it, and she was going to be spirited away so that she'll be able to confess her love to him…she did not like the grin that she was seeing on the female twin's face though; it was as if Tsukiko had something bad in store for her…

"Well Sakura, it seems your curiosity would have gotten you killed had I not intervened," said Tsukiko, "but I think we have a surprise for you…why don't you do it 'Sasuke'?"

Sasuke had briefly taken a glance at his sister. "With pleasure, sis," he said before focusing his attention on the Haruno, "So Sakura, you're the president of my fan-club are you?"

She could not believe that Sasuke knew…although something about that grin appearing on his face started to look something like his sisters. Sakura could only nod dumbly at her crush's question. "Well then, I think you'll be interested that the Uchiha twins are not fraternal twins at all…"

Sakura could only widen her eyes in surprise at that comment as she watched as her precious Sasuke's hands formed the 'ram' seal as he uttered "Kai"…she didn't like the looks of it, because the ram seal and "Kai" only meant one thing: Sasuke was under a genjutsu. No sooner than she heard that word than a loud 'poof' filled the air and steam filled the restroom. When it cleared, she saw another girl that looked exactly like that whore Tsukiko…from the face that the two of them shared, to the bust size she wished she could have, all the way down to how firm and tight her ass looked. It was there that the twins finished that comment at the same time. "…we're identical twins!"

That was the last straw that broke the camel's back! Sakura could only scream in terror, before the information overload had caused her to black out.

The twins could only wince upon hearing that scream. It was then that Tsukiko looked at the unconscious form of Sakura, and she let out a huff of aggravation. "I think you broke her, Satsuki."

"True, but it'll be easier for what we have planned for her…so long as we're quick about it of course."

"Yeah…I think she'll eventually come to appreciate the irony. So, are you taking her ankles or her shoulders?"

"I'll take her shoulders…since you're such a wimp that you can't take them."

"Hey! She's not that heavy is she?"

It was then that Satsuki put the genjutsu back on and reached for Sakura's shoulders by the armpits. "No, this is a typical fan-girl we're talking about—she has been dieting, and so she doesn't have the healthy amount of fat in her body. But that's not the only thing I'm worried about…are you sure you can handle touching someone else's feet?"

At that, Tsukiko could only have a scandalized look on her face as she picked up Sakura by her ankles. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh dear, have you forgotten how good it felt when you made me wash your feet two nights ago before our bath?"

Tsukiko turned red upon hearing that line that she almost dropped Sakura's ankles the second the both of them had crossed the threshold of the restroom. "S-s-shut up you dumbass! B-besides, you're not so innocent yourself! I heard you moaning when I washed your back on the same day!"

"I did not moan!"

Yes, she was finally getting revenge from her sister now, and Tsukiko found herself pressing farther and farther into making Satsuki every bit as embarrassed as she was! "Oh yes you did! You were even begging me to keep on rubbing your back…even asking me to scrub it harder and faster—and in an animalistic voice!"

Satsuki could only turn red with embarrassment upon hearing her sister reminding her of the back-washing she had received that same day. "L-look, let's just stop this right now and focus on the task at hand all right?"

"…fair enough."

The twins had continued the trip home with their would-be peeping tom in tow…with an awkward silence between the two of them…

…

[Higurashi Arsenal, four hours later…]

Meilan was walking around with Tenten through the armory—so many things she could have! There were gloves that were reinforced with steel knuckles, oaken tonfa of all shapes and sizes, even claws! All of which were perfect weapons for her. "See anything you like?"

"Mostly just the fist weapons," said Meilan, looking at her rival with a bit of jealousy mixed in, "you have some great-looking stuff here. A shame we can't buy anything from this store just yet."

"You could be in luck when you do come in here though," began Tenten, with a sigh, "a lot of ninja have been going to the other people for their weapons and gear. Sure, they're cheaper, but they're not as good a quality…which is why business isn't exactly booming around here, but according to dad, that's okay. Says he'd much rather deal with quality customers over larger numbers of customers at the drop of a hat any day. Personally, to a degree, I think he's right…I'd much rather spend my time on worthwhile customers who are more likely to be loyal."

She was not that well-versed in understanding other people yet, but Meilan knew that this was more than just people not coming to shop at this very place. Oh she had a very good idea why—and the sad thing was that this was not even **_her_** fault to begin with. If she ever found the man that did this to make her Naru-kun suffer, she was going to pound the living daylights out of him. She looked at Tenten with a sympathetic look upon noticing how hard it was for her to not cry at her situation…to be honest, she'd be depressed too if she had no customers for something as little as that. Before she could say anything more, she saw Naruto walking with Higurashi Hiten leading him by the hand to her. "You've got a pretty good selection there boy," he said, after allowing leaving Meilan to the hand-holding, "several of your swords are well-made but are still standard-issue, so they're nothing new in my eyes, but that katana of yours is a masterpiece. Treasure it well."

"Will do Higurashi-san."

With that, the couple left the threshold of the arsenal. They'll be returning after they graduate the Ninja Academy. It was here that Hiten turned his attention to Tenten when he was sure the two of them were out of earshot. "He's doing fine Tenten," he said, "and by the looks of things, he's going to be a fine man. If you decide to marry him, then I approve"

The scandalized look on Tenten's face was precious. If he could take a picture now, he would have…because that was a funny scene he had just caught his daughter in. "D-daddy! It's not like that!" As she continued to watch her father for any more funny business, she let out a sigh. There was no escaping her father's knowing gaze when he gave her that 'don't bullshit me' look, especially when there was a smile of amusement on his face. "Besides, even if I did want to pursue him, I highly doubt it's going to work."

"Why not?"

"Because of what…that man did. And I use the term 'man' very lightly. How can I honestly say I deserve the right to be with him after what my so-called 'uncle' did to him?"

"I've only officially met Naruto for a moment, but I can tell you he doesn't seem to me like the sort that holds grudges. But all the same, confront him about what **_that man_** did, and make sure you apologize for what **_he_** did…if Naruto wants nothing to do with you anymore, then that's the end of the story—not that I blame him, because personally if I were in his position, I wouldn't be so forgiving and trusting of this family. On the other hand, if he holds nothing against you, then do all in your power to make up for the crime that was committed against him. And I would recommend that you work up the courage to do so soon—before you lose the chance to do so on your own terms, in addition to losing your chance to be with him forever."

Tenten could not deny the wisdom in her father's words. The tears she'd been holding back all this time had finally come flooding out as she hugged her father's large and muscular frame and he returned that hug. "I wish mom were still alive!"

He could only comfort his daughter…she was all he had left of his wife, and the advice he gave to her was all he could provide to her to try and help. "Yeah," he finally managed to say, "me too."

…

**_A/N: Oh no! What's going to happen to Sakura, now that she knows the Twins' secret now? And what katana was Hiten thinking of that the twins would not get? I'll probably reveal the latter when the twins run off with the Sound Four. In the meantime, I'm thinking of how soon it is until Tenten confronts Naruto about what her uncle did. Naruto's zanbato is the one used in Final Fantasy XI, and the short sword resembles one of Killer Bee's Raiton swords._**

…

**_Confirmed Character Classes So Far:_**

**_Naruto: Asura (initially), by Shippuuden he'll also be the other Slayer subclasses_**

**_Meilan: Nen Master_**

**_Rock Lee: Striker_**

**_Tenten: Rogue_**

**_Sasuke/Satsuki: Blademaster, Berserker, Rogue, Soul Bender_**

**_Tsukiko: Blademaster, Berserker, Rogue, Necromancer_**

**_Hiten: Exorcist_**

**_Tsunade: Monk, Grappler_**

**_Hinata: Nen Master, Striker_**

**_Haku (will be female and in the harem): Glacial Master_**

**_Zabuza: Berserker_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Battle Stations" by Masashi Hamauzu from "Musashiden II: Blademaster": Hiten at work_**

"**_Yonah (Piano Version)" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier": Hiten reflects on his love life_**

"**_Run to You" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin": GSD's travelling_**

"**_Evil" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto": Tsukiko's idea_**

**_"Departure" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin": Tenten speaks with Hiten_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Tsurugi—the Japanese double-edged sword; essentially a copy of the Chinese jian_**

**_Gladius—the ancient Roman short sword…this is where the word 'gladiator' comes from_**

**_Ino-shishi—Japanese for 'wild boar'…that is why whenever her insult-name is translated, Ino is called "Ino-Pig" in the English translation/dub._**


	10. Graduation

**_A/N: The first chapter with a flashback. And now we get to pick things up and move a bit faster…I'll follow the manga a little more closely than the anime from here on out. Either way, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Ichiraku Ramen Stand, roughly six months later…]

Another night, another dollar so they say…and Ayame was busy with her father in preparing more ramen for people that would come to the stand. The stand was small, but still had enough room for a living space behind it. Due to their original careers as ninja, the Ichiraku family of course kept weapons on hand…their specialty weapons were the infamous kusarigama. True, they were not on par with the legendary Sanshouo no Hanzo, nor were they as versatile as the late Kikuchi Mina, but they were highly proficient in the use of that weapon. Upon hearing the curtains moving, the two of them faced the entrance…it was their favorite customer, Naruto and Meilan was not around! The interesting thing about him however, was that he seemed to be scuffed up…and there were marks of chakra usage all over his body, but the strange thing was that he had a smile on his face.

"Hey there Naruto, how may I take your order?"

"One Naruto Special, and six bowls of miso…I have people I want to celebrate with coming in soon."

There was a puzzled look on her face…a little dolphin had told her that Naruto had failed the Ninja Academy, so why was he even smiling in the first place? He should be frowning what with all the teachers sabotaging his education—and then she'd get the chance to comfort him, much to her giddy and girly pleasure as she tried to smother him with lots of love and her decent-sized breasts. All thoughts aside, she "What're you celebrating for?"

"I'll tell you when they get here…"

…

[Ninja Academy Training Grounds, earlier in the afternoon…Taijutsu finals…]

Naruto stood at the ready in the arena…his opponent was none other than that evil prick Mizuki. Even though he kept on hearing that cheerful voice of his, and that very much pretentious way he tried to comfort him, he knew that that was nothing but a façade…and that the asshole had something planned. What it was, he didn't know—he just knew that it didn't sound good. Why couldn't it have been Iruka-sensei? At least the man was sincere in his actions, unlike the weak, pathetic, and very much prejudiced fool before him. Unfortunately, Iruka was busy handling with his share of students, and so that left him and Mizuki at the ring.

The rules to the student-teacher taijutsu final were simple—if you were knocked down or out of the ring, you lost; you didn't even have to bring down the teacher you were fighting, all you had to do was last five minutes. As he stood at the ready to fight, Naruto noted that Mizuki's steps were heavier than normal; Mizuki should have been at the appropriate weight for a Chuunin of his age, if not a little heavier due to his time as a teacher, so why would a normal-sized man be this heavy without any muscle-gain? It was then that Naruto realized the exact reason of why as he increased his chakra senses past 60GHz…the cheater was wearing sandals reinforced with highly dense plates of what he assumed was iron on his soles. That was so low…and the kunai the man hid in a holster on his back didn't improve his opinion of him. But then again, if he wanted to pass the taijutsu exam, he needed to beat this scumbag down.

"Hey, Mizuki-sensei!" he called out, lowering his chakra senses, "I've heard rumor that you've been raped by a lot of enemy ninja, is that true?"

Mizuki's first reaction upon hearing that was an imitation of a fish gulping for air—how dare that demon brat? Oh he's so gonna die right now! Before he could charge in to teach that evil fox a lesson, he paused as he had just remembered that Naruto's unarmed and chakra-efficient fighting style actually **_revolved_** around making people angry first! It was then that he started calming down—that was close! As he calmed down and started happier thoughts, he simply chuckled…no way, no how is the demon-brat going to make him angry! "A little fox told me that you've taken so many rape attempts by said ninja that she questions whether or not you're actually straight! And the sad thing is none of those ninja were women!"

It was getting harder and harder for Mizuki to remain in control—Naruto knew this and grinned…just a little more and he'll turn that asshole into a moaning pile on the ground. "Since you're not answering, I'm betting those rumors are true! And what's worse, you enjoyed getting raped by them!"

That did it! Mizuki didn't even bother letting out the 'hajime!' to denote the beginning of the match—he simply started the match with a roar, and charged in to begin his assault. Surprisingly though, in his vengeful haze, Mizuki's strikes were still rather accurate—as if his rage fuelled his attacks. Naruto knew this as he narrowly dodged each strike, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Once he saw that opening, he ducked under a roundhouse kick before he drove his fist forward and hard! His timing was just right…as was his form and the power behind the punch…it's just that the place that his fist hit was so very wrong that it hurt! The match was already won when Mizuki crumpled to the ground, his voice raised to a higher pitch, and his face contorted and locked in pain as he fell to his side in a fetal position.

"What happened?" asked Iruka, and he walked on over to the scene in front of him…he tried not to laugh at the humiliating position his friend had found himself in. Unfortunately for Mizuki, he failed. "Mizuki-sensei was hit in the groin," began Naruto, "I started it by making him real mad."

Iruka's laughter was broken and melted into shock when he heard how Naruto won his match—granted, due to his blindness, he needed that advantage to fight better when he is unarmed…but to make Mizuki angry was a real challenge, and this was because he had a rather level head on his shoulders with a high tolerance for insults. In order for him to have done this, Naruto must have pushed the right buttons. "Okay then, since Mizuki is incapacitated for the moment, I'll be doing the rest of the spars."

…

[Ninja Academy Classroom, half an hour later…]

It was actually good that this final was taking place—now Iruka could help put ice in that area Mizuki was hit in…to be honest, the past six or so months was actually quieter. For some reason, Sakura had been grinning beatifically while in the presence of both Uchiha twins—she wouldn't say what happened, although it was likely that whatever happened was very much related to the collar around her neck. And this wasn't the kind of collar for fashion, oh no…it was the kind of collar meant for those masochistic people that were into BDSM with the spikes and all. There was even a tag that read 'Property of the Uchiha Clan'. He could only wonder as to what it was that happened between them…

Eh, who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? At least her physical tests had gotten better…and her theory tests were consistent—hmmm…maybe whatever happened to her was actually a good thing. And what was also good was that now he didn't have to deal with that horrible scream the majority of her family was known for…thank Kami that none of them made it as singers—Haruno Sayuri however, was the only exception to that, as she had a wonderful singing voice whenever he was in to have some sake. Yeah, it was also fortunate that her dango stand was right across from his favorite ramen stand, so he could listen to that beautiful voice all day…and then look at that pink hair wondering whether or not it was hereditary…and even wishing he could ask her out so that eventually he could…

His train of thought was interrupted as he looked up at the clock…it was time to end the test. "All right then students, the written test is over…please put your pencils down, and pass your papers towards the stairway—we'll get to the Jutsu Finals in a bit." It was here that he started walking up the stairs, collecting every pile of testing papers along the way. Once he arrived at Naruto's row, he found the boy finishing the markings on his test paper before returning it to the teacher with Meilan's…and he could tell this was Naruto's test paper because the characters were in Braille. Well, at least he had a table to aid in reading those answers…that, and he was also thankful that the words were written in kana to accommodate teachers who were not blind as well. But either way, and Iruka had promised that he would be impartial…those bigots that called themselves teachers didn't realize that their eyes were covered from having their heads so far up their own asses.

Once he collected the last of the tests, Iruka went back down to the desk and then sat down with Mizuki who had just recovered. "Okay then class, we're going to do the Jutsu Final now. In order to pass, you must perform all three jutsu to at least acceptable levels: the Henge, Kawarimi, and Bunshin no Jutsu. We'll start with the Kawarimi…Shino, would you please come on down?"

The kawarimi portion of the finals went without a hitch—Shino had replaced himself with a chair, Ino with a log, Sasuke with a pile of rocks, Tsukiko with a desk, all the way up to Naruto who had replaced himself with a certain orange book…that he had pickpocket from a certain one-eyed jounin by accident. Said jounin screamed at the injustice of the world that his beloved 'Icha-Icha' book was stolen…and ran home crying.

"Okay then, now that that's over with, let's go on to the Henge exams. Choji, you're first!" Everything was going fine—most of the students had transformed into different iterations of Iruka himself…some had even transformed into the Hokage…the only ones who did anything different were Hinata, turning into her father, and the twins transforming into each other. As soon as he led Naruto down the steps, he had a funny feeling something was going to happen that was going to be a mite interesting…than he generally liked. Once he led Naruto to the stage, he sat at his desk with his clipboard at the ready.

"Naruto, you're up. Perform the Henge no Jutsu." The second those words left his lips, Iruka began to regret it as he watched Naruto turn to face him with an evil-looking grin on his face before he moved his hands into the proper sequence…once done, the telltale 'poof' had sounded off with steam being blown in all directions. Once it cleared, he found himself seeing a…pair…of…large…breasts? He then looked up and saw that the breasts belonged to a tall, blonde girl with whisker marks on her cheeks, a pair of long ponytails on her head, and a blindfold over her eyes—grinning lustfully at him…and it didn't help his situation that the girl was naked, and that her breasts were right in front of his face as she leaned forward with both hands on his desk, holding back her C-sized breasts with her. And the voice she had spoken in was what sealed fate as she said, "Hey there, cutie."

Iruka could only scream in shock before a fountain of blood sprayed from his nose…and many of the boys had their brains fried from the sight right after their noses bled. Mizuki had the worst nosebleed of all, as in addition to the girl being naked, she was bent over and showing her ass to him…a very tight and firm-looking ass mind you. Ami and the other Sasuke-loyalist fan girls called the jutsu 'perverted' and 'evil' in addition to accusing Naruto of being the 'enemy of all women' despite the wish they secretly had of having those attributes so that they'd have an easier time of seducing Sasuke…but the Naruto fan-club only had fried brains as they puzzled on the concept as to where Naruto got the idea for that girl? It wasn't long until Iruka regained his senses and performed his infamous Dai Onikubi no Jutsu. "GET SERIOUS YOU DUNCE!"

This immediately dispelled the jutsu as Naruto left the stage laughing out loudly as he found his way up to the desk nearest the stage, and going up another six desks before he found his seat. He could not help but feel as if a good amount of killing intent was directed his way…if the cold feeling he was picking up were any indication—yep, this was going to haunt him later. It wasn't long until Iruka was finished marking everyone for their transformations. "Very well then, all joking aside, let's get to the final part of the exams: the Bunshin no Jutsu! You need to make two functioning clones to pass."

Upon hearing this, Naruto was not pleased at all…whoever wrote the exam he was currently taking was out to get him. The reason for this was that the Bunshin no Jutsu was actually the worst jutsu he tried to learn—Meilan seemed to get the concept behind it naturally—her Doppelganger technique worked on a similar principle after all, as did Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, and Tsukiko; hell, he was pretty sure everyone else got the concept. But Naruto did not understand why his Bunshin didn't come out properly…he worked so hard on that jutsu and yet it seemed to come out wrong. His mood seemed to darken even more when he felt that everyone else performed the technique well—in addition to the smug feelings he was picking up off each of them as they passed him by. When his turn came, he let out a sigh as he was led back down the steps by Meilan and onto the stage.

"Remember Kit," said a certain soft and silky voice reverberating across his ear, turning from sultry and seductive to firm and intense, "instead of making two like that strapping, nose-scarred teacher of yours said, use up as much of your chakra to make many." That's exactly what she told him yesterday, but he was nervous about it now. Once he took a calming breath, Naruto moved his hands in the proper sequence, and did as he was told…as he let out a lot of chakra for the technique. Before long, a loud 'poof' filled the air as the jutsu was completed…something felt wrong.

"Uh, Iruka-sensei, I can't see anything…what's happened?"

The sound of regret in his voice told him all he needed to know. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but you failed—you only made one clone, and it's barely alive."

Failed? How could that be? Naruto could only think back as to what happened. "That's odd…I'm pretty sure I used a lot of chakra, so I should have made more than just one. How can you be sure that I failed…unless someone is sabotaging me right now?"

Actually, Iruka could not fault him there—he knew every teacher, save Namida, was actively sabotaging his education. The only reasons he discounted Namida was because one—Naruto was not a girl, and two—because she was one of the people who didn't hate the boy. But still, he had to make sure everything was fair. "Be that as it may, you still fail the exam unless you can provide proof that your Bunshin no Jutsu was in fact sabotaged as you say."

Naruto was about to retort until he was interrupted. "Don't bother Kit, he's not going to believe you," said the voice, "and the evidence you're about to use will be disproved instantly. Besides, I have a pretty good idea who sabotaged you…and as soon as class is over, you will have a chance for justice—I guarantee it." Upon hearing that, Naruto let out a sigh of frustration, facing Iruka with a look of disappointment on his face. "Fine, you win—I failed the whole final, happy now?"

…

[Outside at the swings, after school…]

Meilan walked towards the boy sitting in one of the swings with her hitae-ate tied around her neck. Naruto had a disappointed look on his face…yes, he definitely needed a shoulder to possibly cry on. Along the way, she heard the whispers behind her back.

"Why is she even with him in the first place? Doesn't she even know what he is?"

"So it's true, demon whores are decided when young…"

"Keep your little girls away…I hear the demon can seduce them with music."

"I'm glad he didn't become a ninja…how would you feel if…"

"Shh…don't say it—the law is still in effect."

Yes, she's had her share of whispered hatred directed at her, but that was no excuse for them to do what they did to Naruto-kun. Yes, she was aware of what he was—he told her after all, but she loved him anyway in spite of the real demon-whore he was containing in his arm; some part of her wanted to spank that bitch for what she caused her Naru-kun. And as loathe as she was to admit it…yes, Naruto could seduce and attract a lot of girls with his music, albeit unknowingly—she knew it because she was among the girls who was getting seduced by his skills with a guitar.

As she neared him, she noted that the other girls in the fan-club were there—Sasuke being the only apparent boy in the fan-club. No doubt they were there to comfort her Naruto-kun with her. It was then that she turned her attention towards the boy of her affections only to see that Mizuki was leading him away and into an alley. This was odd, because she knew that the white-haired teacher was one of the people actively sabotaging Naruto's education…what could he want with him?

…

[The Alley…]

"So sorry about your failure Naruto," began Mizuki as he lied through his teeth, "but do you know why Iruka is so hard on you?"

The look of faux curiosity was clear on his face. "Gee, I wonder why—in fact, why don't you explain to me why Iruka-sensei is so hard on me even though it's pretty clear I've been sabotaged by the teachers since day one of my…educational experience."

"I don't know…"

Before he could say anything else, Mizuki was cut off when Naruto raised his hand. "Cut the bull Mizuki; five years on the road works wonders in beating the stupid out of you—and when you're blind, it becomes child's play to tell when someone is lying so don't even bother doing so; it insults my intelligence and makes you look stupid when you do. I know that it was **_your_** chakra pulse that sabotaged my test…and I know that you brought me out here because you want something from me. Tell me what you want before I show you how much more dangerous I can be when angry."

The imitation of a fish gulping for air returned on Mizuki's face. He'd been figured out…but maybe he can turn this around to his advantage…yeah, all he had to do now was to choose his words carefully. "Very astute—since you've figured me out so easily, I have a bit of a proposition for you; a bit of…extra credit if you will."

Naruto faced the teacher with suspicion written across his face. Perhaps it was worth it just let him live for a moment longer…after all, it would be child's play to kill the man later. "I'm all ears."

The smirk on Mizuki's face had widened to a grin…hook, line, and sinker! "Oh nothing, it's just that I want you to do something for me…"

…

[Training Ground 23, three hours later…]

It's been almost three hours since the theft of the Forbidden Scroll at the hands of Naruto…the Hokage wouldn't say how it was stolen from him when he had just walked into his office, but judging from the tissue papers shoved in his nostrils, Iruka had a very good idea of what happened to make the theft so easy. But all joking aside, he needed to find Naruto quickly—before one of the jounin found him and decided to kill him…assuming of course that the worst-case scenario had happened where they were Naruto-haters. He could only shudder to himself as to the fate of the poor boy. It wasn't long until he had finally arrived on the scene to see Naruto, looking a bit more tired than usual and sitting at the base of a tree with all four of his weapons out. Was he expecting trouble? As he continued to study his appearance, Iruka had noted that the blind boy had been working hard—at what, he couldn't tell. But he had work to do…and a boy to be angry at. "Naruto! What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto was startled upon hearing the yelling of his teacher. It was then that he stood up turned to face Iruka with a proud grin on his face. "Oh hey Iruka-sensei. How're you this fine night? Are you here to test me again?"

"Don't play coy with me…do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? And what do you mean 'again'?"

"Trouble? How can I be in trouble? Mizuki-sensei said that someone would come by for my re-test…and that part of the re-test was to steal this scroll from the Hokage."

"Naruto, there's no re-test. If there were, I'd know about it."

"Oh really? Because Mizuki-sensei promised that if I stole the scroll for him, that he'd make me a gennin easily."

Wait a minute…Mizuki 'promised'? All this time, Naruto was being offered a chance to graduate that never existed? How could this be? Before he could retort, the sound of a large blade spinning in the air…reacting quickly, Iruka jumped forward, and pushed the boy down to dodge a giant shuriken that whizzed overhead and embedded itself in a nearby tree before a couple of kunai embedded themselves in the back of his calves. "This is actually a surprise," said a voice nearby, "I never actually counted on somebody beating me to the brat, but I suppose it all works out…once I'm done here, then everything goes as planned!"

Iruka turned to find the owner of the voice—to his horror, it belonged to Mizuki, and he was dressed in his war gear. He also had two large shuriken strapped to his back. "Mizuki, how could you?"

"Oh it's easy Iruka…just one thrust was all it took! But enough of this banter…Naruto, give me that scroll, and your graduation will be assured."

"Don't listen to him Naruto! Mizuki's a liar…he used you to steal the Forbidden Scroll for himself."

"Look who's talking? Who's the real liar when everyone else has been lying to you from day one? By the way Naruto, do you know why everyone hates you so much?"

The look on his face was blank—Mizuki hated it…that cold look that said 'I'm a better man than you!' Maybe it was time to take that brat down a notch! "I suppose it can't be any worse…go ahead, tell me why."

Iruka knew where he was going with this…he was not going to allow him to say a word. "No Mizuki! Don't say a word!"

"The Hokage lied when he said that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was killed on October the tenth…but the fact of the matter is that there's no way you could kill a tailed beast. So the 'Honorable Third' had passed a law…a very special law punishable by death that concerned the people of this village letting a particular secret out!"

Naruto's expression had not changed one bit. "And what pray tell is that secret?"

"Mizuki, don't! It's forbidden!"

"The secret is that you in fact art the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

That did it! Mizuki had unveiled the one secret that should not ever have been let out. He then grinned even wider as he watched Naruto's mouth open as he took in a breath. "Is that all?" This surprised both men…they expected him to break down…cry…anything but that deadpan voice that came out of his mouth. "If you really think I'm the Kyuubi no Kitsune, then you're probably dumber than I thought. If I were the fox, I wouldn't even be a boy you dumbass!"

Mizuki could only look in befuddlement as he took in what the demon-brat said. "What the fuck are you talking about? YOU'RE THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!"

"No you fucking idiot! I met the Kyuubi no Kitsune long before you came up with that stupid-ass plan! The fox you are so scared of is a woman!"

Iruka could only think of the implications. A lot of people believed that the fox was male because of its power…to hear that Naruto not only met the fox personally, but confirmed that it was a woman was enough to freeze him with shock. Mizuki however, got over his shock rather quickly. "Who cares? Man? Woman? You're still the fox in my eyes!"

Naruto let out a sigh of frustration. "There's no reasoning with you is there? Looks like I'm going to have to bring out the pain."

The look of confidence had not left Mizuki's smug features. "Oh, well bring it on Kyuubi! I'm a chuunin, and you can't beat me when you're not even a gennin! And I'll bet all your techniques were flukes because you're still blind!"

"Wrong." It wasn't long until he put both hands in a hand seal, and a smoke screen had appeared. Before long, multiple copies of Uzumaki Naruto were swarming the forest. All of them had grins on their faces…and it didn't help the feeling of foreboding he had as each copy of Naruto was brandishing a different weapon—some were wielding the Kumo-standard short sword in a reverse grip, others were wielding that menacing-looking tetsubo that seemed too heavy for practical use. "If you're so shocked that you can't come to us…"

"…then we're coming to you!"

Mizuki could not stop the onslaught that came—for every clone that he dispersed, another one appeared and managed to land a hit on him…some stabbed at him with short swords, others slashed at him with katana, but the most frequent attack that hit him was the bludgeoning he received from the iron maces. By the time the assault was over, many of the clones had been dispelled willingly—and Mizuki was found barely standing and with many bruises all over his body. The real Naruto simply stood and watched with a smirk on his face, as he sheathed all his weapons. "Ready to give up yet?"

At this point, Mizuki was panting for air…it was then that he started grinning maniacally! It was then that he reached into his flak jacket, and pulled out a syringe containing an ominous-looking fluid. "You may have beaten me in round 1, but I guarantee you won't survive round 2!" As soon as he finished that sentence, Mizuki jabbed the syringe into a vein in his elbow. Once the fluid was injected into his system, Mizuki pulled the syringe out and started to kneel down in throes of pain…before long, his muscles started exploding in size, turning the average-built man into a hulking monster with tiger stripes. "With this power Orochimaru-sama gave me, I'll make you watch helplessly as I have my way with your girlfriends…one by one!"

The smirk on Naruto's face had melted into a frown. Oh, he was not amused—nobody threatened his friends and lived to tell the tale! At this point, his voice had become cold and grim. "I was hoping you'd say something stupid like that. You're so pathetic, that Kyuubi thinks that you're not even worth raping…so pathetic in fact, that I think only one will be sufficient for you. You should feel honored, Mizuki-teme…it's not often that I start fighting seriously…"

Iruka could only look in confusion at his student…what did he mean by 'one will be sufficient'? His silent question was answered when Naruto shot his hand up into the air, and charged some chakra into it—the result was that a glowing blue glyph of some kind had appeared above his hand before it disappeared and started orbiting around his head. Once that was done, Naruto got into a horse stance, and drew his katana from its sheath. "Come and get me dumbass!"

"If you insist!" He didn't need to say any more—Mizuki charged with his claws ready to strike down Naruto. The boy himself simply stood at the ready…but Iruka noted that the glyph had disappeared from Naruto's head, and that his katana had started glowing in the same color as the glyph. Mizuki was barely a few feet away from Naruto when the latter brought the sword up in both hands and then swung down and hard as he called out "Return!", causing a glowing orb of energy to fly forward and impact against Mizuki—the tiger-man was pushed back slightly as the orb started grinding away at him for a few moments before it finally exploded, and sending him flying and screaming into a tree…the force that he was hit with was enough to break his back—assuming of course the shockwave caused by the explosion didn't kill him by disrupting his nervous system first.

Naruto sheathed his katana, and bowed. "Rest in peace Mizuki-teme…may whomever you prayed to in life have mercy on you."

He could not believe his eyes…what the hell kind of training did Naruto go through for five years? As he watched the boy pull out the kunai and shuriken embedded in his legs, Iruka could not help but grin at what he had just seen…if this was but the tip of the iceberg of what it was that he learned in that time, then it would most definitely be a good idea to do this…

…

[Ichiraku Ramen Stand, present time…]

Naruto sat around at the stand…waiting for the people he had called for to arrive. Oh this was good news! It wasn't long until he heard multiple footsteps coming to his direction. "What's up Naruto-kun?" asked Tsukiko, bewilderment clear in her voice. Sasuke had walked in with his sister, with the same amount of confusion clear on his face.

"Yeah…what's new?" The voice that asked belonged to Ino…she was half-annoyed that Naruto had brought her out of bed…but at the same time, she was also glad to see him.

Meilan had walked in shortly after with Hinata following her. "Did you do it?"

"Oh yeah…it's done."

Hinata was not the only one who had a raised eyebrow as to what Naruto meant by that, as even Ayame was listening intently with her father, but she was in fact the first to ask. "W-what d-do you mean N-Naruto-kun?"

The girls could only continue wondering as to what had put their friend-slash-crush in such a good mood…before their looks confusion had melted away and become looks of surprise when they saw Naruto pull a hitae-ate out of his pocket! "I had to deal with a traitor to the village, but I finally got it. Iruka-sensei gave me his…and so now it's official—I'm a gennin, same as the five of you."

The five friends could only run up to Naruto and hug him…he had finally made it! "And now to celebrate!" As if on cue, Ayame and Teuchi had walked on in with smiles on their faces and five large bowls of chashu-men in their arms for Naruto, and six bowls of miso for the others. Once the trays were put down, Naruto picked up one of the miso bowls while the others were handed to the others.

"A toast to our future successes!" he began, as he raised his bowl, and the others held their bowls gingerly, before they all found the confidence to raise their bowls a bit higher, "As we drink our bowls of miso, may each of our careers as ninja be fruitful…and may we also remain friends from this day forth!"

The toast was done when everyone's bowls touched! Nothing would stop them now!

…

[Elsewhere…]

Sitting in his office, Shimura Danzo could only think to himself that this was his opportunity! Now that the Kyuubi-brat had graduated that pitiful excuse of an academy, he could work towards getting the weapon he had always wanted! In spite of the fact that his former student Kushina was like a daughter to him, he had to put the needs of the village first…a fact that seemed to turn the poor girl, Kami rest her soul, from a good daughter to a rebellious one. It was also no wonder as to why she never invited him to the birth of her son, nor did she label him as the child's legal guardian…after seeing his dedication, Kushina wanted nothing more to do with him. A real shame—he really did love her like a daughter…and it hurt him to know that his 'daughter' had come to hate him, but he felt that she'd thank him later in the long run…

But all other thoughts aside, Danzo began to think back on the possibilities with using Uzumaki Naruto as a weapon; from what he'd heard of the boy's training before he attended the academy, he would likely be the best swordmaster in all of Konoha, beating out Hayate and his fiancé Yugao. Oh, he'll have a part in the boy's life…just not directly. And judging from the fact that he technically qualified for the Clan Restoration Act, he'll have even more opportunities to get that weapon he'd dreamed of owning.

Now if only he could figure out how to make more weapons…oh wait, he just found another candidate for the CRA! Yes, this would actually kill a lot of birds with one stone—figuratively-speaking of course. "Somebody get me Kikyo," he called out, "I have a mission suitable for her particular skill-sets…"

…

**_A/N: It seems we have a representative from ROOT in Naruto's harem now…and said representative will be the team's resident medic (being a Nen Master, Meilan has limited healing capabilities) and long-range specialist. Also, as it stands, I'm still debating whether or not Ino is included in the harem…although since it's still early, I might consider pairing her up with Shikamaru, Choji, or even Sai. So many possibilities…and as to Kurama's orientation, I'd say that being locked up as long as she has would probably make her so horny that she wouldn't care if she was doing the deed with a man or a woman._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Moves:_**

**_Taunt—Brawler_**

**_Wave Manifestation Brand—Asura_**

**_Ghost Orb—Asura_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Cornered" by Sugimori Masakazu from "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney": Taijutsu exams_**

"**_Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto": Written and Jutsu exams_**

"**_Darksiders Theme" by Chris Velasco and Mike Reagan from "Darksiders": Mizuki gets his ass kicked by Kage Bunshins_**

"**_Victory Fanfare" by Nobuo Uematsu from all "Final Fantasy X": Celebrating graduation_**

"**_Nine-tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto": Danzo's idea_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Kusarigama—a small scythe (kama) with a chain (kusari) that has a weight on the other end. Can be used to disarm opponents, hit them from long range with the weight, or pull them in to be hacked apart by the scythe_**

**_Sanshouo no Hanzo—this is Hanzo's full title in Japanese…it means "Hanzo of the Salamander"_**

**_Braille—contrary to what you think, there are different variations of the raised dot letters everyone knows as Braille to accommodate for their respective languages; in the case of such languages as Japanese or Chinese, the position of the dots are based on phonetic sounds_**

**_Chashu-men—this is ramen noodles with barbecued pork called 'chashu' (in its native tongue of Cantonese, it's known as 'chasiu')_**


	11. Grandchildren

**_A/N: And now we will know what has become of Sakura six months ago…a warning to everyone about to read this—the first lemon scene is up ahead…if you're offended, then don't feel obligated to leave. We'll also be meeting the ROOT ANBU member of the harem. As usual, do read and review would you kindly? Also, I'm looking for beta-readers for this story, so whomever wishes to volunteer, please either leave it in your review or PM me._**

…

[Hokage's Office, the next day…]

He may not have been able to see it, but the metal on his hitae-ate had a luster to it that practically advertised its fresh-off-the-press condition. Naruto wore it like a new blindfold with the metal plate covering both of his eyes…and he had a feeling that somehow, the criminals put in the penitentiary far away from here had put all their resentment and anger into making these steel plates. But all in all, he had a better feeling while wearing it—as it was Iruka's hitae-ate he was wearing.

"You've really done well for yourself Naruto," said Hiruzen, looking at the boy with all of his weapons strapped to his back, before turning his attention back to his dossier, "I suppose it's only a matter of time before you take up my position."

Naruto could only grin upon hearing that. "I guess you're right…after all, it would take a while before I can take up your share of the paperwork…especially given the secret I now know to your lifelong enemy."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen's eyes widened…Naruto had the secret to ending his paperwork troubles? Now this he had to hear…before he could even begin to beg, the door was slammed open, and in walked a little boy wearing some odd-looking headdress with a wooden kunai in his hand and a long blue scarf around his neck. "TIME TO DIE OLD MAN!" Before he could start to attack the poor Hokage, the little boy stepped on his scarf and fell flat on his face—the wooden kunai accidentally flying from his hand and directly at Naruto's head…fortunately for the boy, that accident had not resulted in a death as Naruto caught the kunai by its handle the second the tip had arrived a few inches away from his temporal bone.

The boy was shaken from his shock as he saw that the blind kid before him caught the wooden practice kunai quite easily. "YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TRIPPED ME DIDN'T YOU? WHY I OUGHTTA…" The boy never got to finish that sentence…the light amount of killing intent that Naruto had instantly silenced him; and the fact that he was being held by the collar by that same boy seemed to help in silencing him more effectively. "Will you keep it down? It's bad enough that your voice annoys me, but to hurt my ears while you're doing it? That has got to be the lowest blow against a blind person of all time! Besides, you tripped on your own scarf you moron!"

Before the little boy in his arms could retort, the door was slammed open, and in walked a ninja dressed entirely in indigo blue with a hitae-ate in the form of a bandanna—another distinguishing aspect about the man was that he was wearing sunglasses. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama…he seemed to have…" The man had been caught in the middle of a sentence when he saw Naruto holding the little boy by his shirt…the look of exasperation on his face had turned into one of raw hate. "How dare you! Do you even know who you're threatening brat? This is the Honorable Third Hokage's Grandson!"

A puzzled look had appeared on Naruto's face…but then again, it did in fact make sense as to why the little kid in his hands had a similar tobacco scent to his jiji. The little boy in his hand could only grin with a good amount of confidence. "What's the matter? Are you too scared to hit me now that you know I'm the Hokage's grandson?"

The look of annoyance had returned on his face. "I couldn't care less if you were his grandma!" No sooner than he said that, than when he 'gently' threw the Hokage's grandson over the old man's shoulder, and slamming the little boy into the wall just enough to knock the wind out of him as he thought 'this kid is different'. "And be thankful that I chose not to punch you… you probably wouldn't even know you're dead if I did." Naruto turned his attention to Hiruzen. "I'm sorry about your grandson, but he needed to be a bit quieter…but if that's all for today, I'd like to get going."

"No, that'll be all Naruto," said Sarutobi with a grunt, "although I wish you could've been just a little more lenient on him…"

"Very well then, I'll be leaving now…you have a nice day."

Hiruzen sighed in relief…finally, he was going to get some peace! "Honorable Grandson, where are you?" It was at this point that Hiruzen heard Ebisu leave the office looking for his grandson—ah well now he was finally going to get back to that chapter in Icha-Icha…wait a minute, he still had paperwork to do! And he just forgot to ask Naruto the secret to finishing it off easily! Oh the despair…oh the pain…it was so bad that Hiruzen had no other choice but to let it out!

…

[Outside the Hokage Tower…]

As he left the door to the tower, Naruto was glad things worked out. "You ready to go?" asked Meilan, her response was a very much positive nod. "Good, then let's go…I'm starving."

Naruto grinned at that. "And I think I have just the perfect…"

"…no more Ichiraku's for today," interrupted Meilan, a bit of annoyance in her voice, "don't get me wrong, I love Ayame-nee and Teuchi-jiji like family, and I also think they're the best in their specialty, it's just that I want a change of pace for once."

Naruto's grin of pride had turned to a teasing one…Meilan knew that grin very well. "Who said I was going to take us to the Ichiraku's? I have another restaurant in mind…if you'll let me run through my memories I'll take us there."

"You're going to be my bloodhound?"

"I really prefer fox given my situation, but I suppose that works."

This elicited a giggle from Meilan—but before she could say anything, she heard a pained howl from the top of the tower: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She then looked to Naruto with a look of confusion on her face. The amused look on her face told her he knew something. "Looks like Hokage-jiji forgot to ask me the secret solution to his paperwork problems…I guess he also forgot about what he saw in that training ground."

Upon hearing that, Meilan could only laugh at the expense of the poor old man. This was actually funny…and now she was being dragged by the old man's only hope of escaping his fate…and besides, they had until tomorrow to be assigned their teams…

…

[Meanwhile, Konoha Ninja Academy, girl's restroom…]

She could not believe it…it's been six months since she discovered their secret, and even now those sex-addicted twins were at it again! What really made Sakura ashamed of herself was the fact that they managed to break her mind from day one—granted, they had help from their mom, but it still made her hate herself. And what's worse was that she enjoyed them ravaging her from the moment they first broke her…who knew that Haruno Sakura was such a pervert? As she was pressed against the wall with her body like a fish on sale, she let the feeling of the twins' hands run over her stomach, then onto her so-called mosquito bites, and then they fondled her nether-regions…all the while, they were also licking her and planting lustful kisses on her neck. To her displeasure, both twins broke their kissing and licking and left Sakura leaingin against the wall…looking at each other with devious looks on their faces—oh she knew they were up to something.

"Did you bring it Tsukiko?"

"How could I forget? I'm just dying to use it on her!"

"What size did you bring?"

"The largest we've got."

"Oh dear Kami…"

"Don't 'oh dear Kami' me, she is now officially our training dummy, so we may as well experiment on her."

"I guess you're right…but still, don't you think it's a bit much?"

"Did you not hear the words 'training dummy' leave my mouth?"

Sakura could only look on with horror mixed in with the high she was getting from the twins' fondling as she slumped to the ground on her ass. It was big and made of rubber…in diameter, it was a bit larger than her fist, and it seemed to be covered in bumps all around…oh yeah, and it looked like it was around .38 meters long. This was insanity! All she'd been able to handle from the twins so far was them eating her pussy…she could even handle their fondling of it with their hands while they ground their legs against hers and on both sides…hell, she's even taken a few potshots to the ass from that riding crop they had in the dungeons below the Uchiha District. This however, was probably the largest dildo she had ever seen…and what's worse was that she was wasting her first time on a 15-inch black rubber cock!

The second she saw that, she was also aroused—in that moment, her inner persona had been split into "Willful Sasuke Fan-Girl Sakura" and "Perverted Sex-Slave Sakura"…with the latter winning and beating out the horror the former felt. Her horrified features had soon melted into longing…and then it became begging…and it was then that she spread her legs open and started panting.

"Do you see that Satsuki?"

"Sure did, Tsukiko…the greedy little whore wants more!"

"Should we indulge her?"

"I don't know…why don't we ask her?"

"Good idea!" It was then that the twin named Tsukiko turned to Sakura with a teasing look in her eyes as she waved the dildo in front of her face. "Hey, Sakura, do you want this?"

Sakura nodded, the only sound coming out of her mouth was the heavy panting of ecstasy in her vocal cords…Tsukiko's response was to smack her across the face with the dildo. "You have a mouth whore, so use it. Now I'm going to ask you again…do you want this?"

Sakura's throat was too raw from the moaning. She could only mumble 'yes'…hoping that Tsukiko would stop teasing her and shove that thing into her pussy.

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes!"

"LOUDER!"

"YEEEEESSSSSS!"

Upon hearing that animalistic voice she and her sister had trained to perfection for the past six or so months, Tsukiko grinned. "Very good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear!" she then turned to her sister with that devilish look in her face…a face she shared with her sister, "Satsuki, be a dear, and get behind her…and be ready to do it on my mark…"

"Of course Tsukiko!" At that, Satsuki sat behind Sakura, and had one hand on her overly small breasts, and the other reaching down below her waist, and her index and middle fingers poised on both sides of her pussy lips. The pink-haired girl felt the adrenaline rush through her veins, her heart was pumping at what could be her most painful sexual experience yet…and the second she felt Satsuki opening her lips wide and revealing the pink of her pussy, she knew that her virginity was doomed to that monster of a dildo. And it seemed that the boy she loved, who turned out to be a girl all along, was helping his sister in deflowering her…and Sakura wanted it! She didn't care anymore that Sasuke, or Satsuki, or whatever her name was…the point was, she got to be with Sasuke, and now she would—granted, she'd be a sex slave to both her and her equally hot sister for the rest of her life, but at least she could die happy.

It wasn't long until Sakura felt the tip of the dildo enter her pussy, stopping the second it touched her hymen. She felt as it moved in and out gently…before she felt it being rammed at full speed in one very hard thrust through that barrier and all the way in—sending copious amounts of blood splattering all over the restroom floor from her pussy as she let out a scream laced with a mixture of pain and pleasure as the dildo slid in and out of her virgin hole, and continuing to moan as Tsukiko had a hard time moving it. "Beg for it Whore-uno! Beg like you've never begged before!"

"MORE! PLEASE MISTRESS! GIVE ME MORE! DESTROY MY PUSSY AND MAKE ME YOUR ETERNAL SLAVE!"

And from then on, the orgy continued behind closed doors…as the slave was tortured by her mistresses, and nobody was around to hear the moans of pain and pleasure echoing through the halls of the Academy as soon as Sakura climaxed…it was fortunate that the twins had learned to make privacy seals…

…

[Streets of Konoha…]

Oh he smelled it! That spoiled little brat from the Hokage tower was following them…and he could tell it was the Hokage's grandson just by that scent alone. It was here that he stopped with Meilan. "You know, you're not exactly subtle," he said, eliciting a look of confusion from Meilan's face, "I've known you were following us since we left the Hokage tower, so why don't you show yourself?"

"Hah! So you've managed to figure me out…you really are a worthy opponent boss!"

Upon hearing the voice come up from behind them, Meilan turned to see a blanket with brown stripes that looked like it camouflaged with a fence being pulled down, and a little boy grinning arrogantly at the two of them. "It wasn't that hard…you smell like tobacco—a bit unrefined, but still tobacco. But anyway, I'll get straight to the point; what are you doing following us?"

The little boy could only grin with confidence on his smug little face. "You're probably the strongest ninja around in the village right? I was thinking maybe you could teach me a few moves!"

Ah! So that's what it was! And for that, Naruto had an answer: "I wouldn't be a very good teacher…in case you haven't noticed, I'm blind—I'm pretty sure you don't want to be taught by a blind kid do you?"

"Don't care. I think you're a better teacher than Ebisu-sensei any day!"

Naruto could only sigh to himself…he really wanted to go to the restaurant with Meilan now! "It's okay Naruto-kun," she said, before finishing off and moving close to his ear, "if you do a good job of teaching him, I'll do something 'special' for you…"

That got his blood pumping…although he was not the only one—the little boy could only blush. The boss was lucky to have such a pretty girlfriend. Naruto on the other hand could only let out a small and scandalous laugh. "Why Meilan…I never thought you moved that quickly! But don't worry; I'll see what I can do about that kid. What's your name anyway?"

"Konohamaru."

"Okay then…we're going to the bamboo grove. And just know, I'm not working for free; you're paying for lunch."

The determined grin on the boy's face was clear…he was learning everything he could from this kid if he had to bug him for all eternity—hell, maybe he'll get himself that pretty girlfriend of his while he's at it! "Fine by me! I'll take whatever you throw at me!"

Unbeknownst to everyone though, a pair of white Hyuuga eyes watched the scene before her…the sight of the last Baihe holding hands with her savior really tore at her heart with envy. She wished she was a little older, and a good deal stronger in the Jyuuken style—that way, she could show that Baihe girl that the Hyuuga were superior to her family! And in addition to that, she could show that she was a better girl for Naruto than Hinata-neechan! All she had to do was get stronger, graduate the academy and become a powerful ninja worthy of his notice, and then she'll have him all to herself! But for now, she'll have to wait until she gets into the academy first…

…

[Danzo's ROOT base…]

A girl was walking down the halls of Shimura Danzo's top-secret ROOT ANBU base…aside from the fact that she wore the standard robes of the ROOT operative she stood out from the other agents in that she wore an eagle-shaped visor over her head. It would also appear that even among them, the gossip chain passed through them all, as whispers about this particular operative and her skills were exchanged by all operatives she passed by. Why she was back here in the base instead of hunting rogue ninja in the wilderness for their bounties to finance the organization in secret as she was normally assigned to do, they never knew, but one thing was for sure—they never wanted to be in her sights.

Once she arrived at the room where her leader was, she immediately knelt down before him with her face to the floor. "Danzo-sama, I am here as you requested."

Danzo could only smile—this agent in particular never failed to make him proud no matter the effort she made; not surprising actually…given her lineage of course. "Rise and remove your mask, Kikyo. I have a mission for you."

Doing as she was told, Kikyo removed her visor, revealing a beautiful face with a dark tan and shoulder-length moss-colored hair bundled up in a ponytail behind her head—she had eyes the color of blazing amber. The distinguishing feature about her was that she had four medium-green stripes going diagonally up her right cheek from the bottom of her chin, and the wild look in her eyes—one that could only be achieved from living in the wilderness with nature. "What fool has offended you my lord?"

"I'm sure you're aware of the return of Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Who hasn't heard of him? I hear that he's the dead-last of the academy…what is so special about him?"

"It seems that Umino Iruka has had a change of heart, and realized that all this time young Uzumaki had been sabotaged in his education from day one of the academy, and so he decided to allow him a chance to become a ninja. You are going to listed in the same team roster with him in a few hours."

The ANBU agent by the name of Kikyo had a look of confusion on her features. "With all due respect my lord, but may I ask as to why you wish for me to do this?"

He was proud—she was a very bright girl. His grin had widened ever so slightly upon hearing this. "Very astute; I am asking you because I have many birds to kill with just one stone by sending you to join his team, which is very likely going to include Baihe Meilan. I want you to provide your skills to aid them, but above all to keep an eye on Uzumaki Naruto."

"You still wish to have that potential weapon he carries don't you?"

"It'll be in the benefit of everyone in the long run—what if the Kyuubi is let loose again? Who can we seal the fox into? Add to the fact that Naruto is rather powerful, and we have a weapon to use against the other nations should they dare to attack us…and I want control of it."

"If this mission is so important, then why haven't you gotten Sai to do it?"

Danzo could only grin at the disrespect he was getting from this agent—morally speaking, this was in fact wrong, but he was sure that even she understood the importance of this. Besides, he knew to expect this kind of backtalk from her at least once in a while—after all, her mother was exactly the same way despite her loyalty to his cause…and her father was a great man; a shame that both of them died when the Kyuubi attacked for no apparent reason. "Because Sai is busy elsewhere, and I also need someone to have eyes on Uzumaki on a more…personal level let's just say. But it still stands…we need to keep the Kyuubi under control and its Jinchuuriki under constant watch—and the sooner we do that, the sooner we can finally establish peace in the world. If you still have objections to this mission, then you can take comfort in the fact that if he takes sexual advantage of you, then you have my permission to kill him."

Kikyo could only sigh in exasperation as she turned to leave. "Say no more…I'll join Uzumaki's team—but I'm going to be testing him before I do, and if he dies, it's his own damn fault for being weak. And on another note; if you wanted me to get married **_this_** badly, you could've just done what a proper elder would do by doing the actual arranged marriage."

As he watched the girl leave, Danzo could only grin to himself. When he knew that Kikyo was out of earshot, he let out a grunt of satisfaction. "Were it so easy, my precious little granddaughter…"

…

[Streets of Konoha, almost three hours later…]

Ebisu was most definitely not a happy camper—first the demon-brat had appeared, then the Honorable Grandson vanishes on him! His career was riding on this—if he couldn't teach the kid anything proper by the time he was of academy-age, his reputation would be tarnished before it even began. He only wished he could get to the Honorable Grandson before something bad had happened to him…like if that demon-brat mauled him to death.

Oh he's heard of all the talk about Uzumaki Naruto…that he was the Kyuubi no Yoko incarnate, that he had somehow bent the Honorable Third Hokage to his will, and that he was responsible for the murder of the Honorable Fourth and his wife…oh so many crimes attributed to one boy. As he ran across the tops of buildings, he noted something down below near the bamboo grove…and then he saw his target—getting beaten to death by the demon brat with bamboo sticks? Now this would not do! It was then that Ebisu moved on in quickly—he needed to stop this before things got out of hand!

…

[The Bamboo Grove…]

Konohamaru had tried desperately to fight off his opponent with his own improvised shinai while that hottie that was his boss' girlfriend watched as he was humiliated by the older boy. For the past hour or so since Uzumaki had his lunch, he'd challenged the younger boy to a sword duel—he never did understand why he had to learn this; after all, the standard weapon of a ninja was often his kunai and shuriken. "Why the hell are we doing this boss? I thought we were training to be ninja, not samurai!"

"The lessons you learn from swordsmanship still apply to something like taijutsu—if you if your footwork isn't good, you'll only end up looking stupid and dead. Trust me, it applies."

"Well why don't you teach me another cool ninjutsu instead?"

Once he heard that, Konohamaru could only get himself ready for the next strike—he'd been tripped up by his new sensei several times already, and he wasn't even using a long stick! He would be damned if he got tripped up in front of the pretty girl again! "You've got to get a good grasp of the basics first…or do you want me to trip you up again? Keep your line of center—that's the most universal rule of all fighters whether they're noble samurai, cunning ninja, or even the hardiest of brawlers."

It was then that he watched Naruto rush in with his shorter stick, forcing the younger student to use both hands to block—true, he was still on the defensive, but this time, he was quicker, and blocking more hits from his new sensei. It was then that he witnessed that one move he noticed him using more often lately—upon remembering what was constantly being drilled into his head, Konohamaru jumped over the low blow, and was swinging his longer stick down when Naruto used his shorter stick to block the overhead swing, following through by pushing Konohamaru back and then he used his left arm to land a palm strike that pushed the younger boy back a good few feet away. Given how strong he was, the strike was relatively light—but it still knocked the wind out of Konohamaru enough for him to hear his next words. "Very good, you're learning faster—at this rate, you'll probably be able to do anything in a shorter amount of time if you keep this up."

"And if you keep learning under him, you won't learn anything," said a voice walking towards the three of them, the arrogance behind it made it clear as to who it was, "Honorable Grandson, if you continue to associate yourself with such a lowlife, you'll only be hurting yourself!"

Konohamaru could only look to the man in indigo clothing with a barely-veiled contempt. "Back off Ero-sensei, I'm learning more things than I ever have been under you!"

"Honorable Grandson, I kid you not, that brat will only hold you back! Don't you want to get stronger faster? I guarantee results real fast if you learn under me!"

"No way! I'm not going back to you! How can you even be my sensei if this is how you react to this!" It was here that Konohamaru clapped his hands together, and a puff of smoke erupted—when it cleared, a woman with black hair stood in his place with C-sized breasts. "If this isn't progress, then I don't know what is!"

Ebisu recoiled upon seeing what his student had learned—but managed to recover from his perverted giddiness quickly enough to be angry at Naruto without a bloody nose. "You brat! How dare you teach the Honorable Grandson such a scandalous jutsu? I'm very disappointed in you! Now I'm even more convinced that you are a bad teacher…and that I should be teaching him properly! I wonder how your future children will turn out if this is how you teach!"

Upon hearing this, Meilan got up with rage in her eyes—she was just about to pummel the older man into oblivion when she saw Naruto raise his hand behind him gently. Her rage was suppressed and a smile appeared on her face…oh he'll take care of this! And so she found herself leading Konohamaru away and motioning for him to have a front-row seat. Once he was satisfied that Meilan and his impromptu student were out of the way, Naruto turned to face Ebisu with an un-amused look on his face, picking up Konohamaru's discarded bamboo stick. "If this weren't your first offense against me, I would've just slugged the living daylights out of you. Now from your chakra signature, you're probably a jōnin…but let me tell you, if you don't think I'm so strong, then what do you think about this!" With a quick turn on his heel, the bamboo stick started glowing a vile purple before Naruto landed a very heavy downward swing…within a few seconds, a swath of just over twenty bamboo shoots were cut down—Ebisu could only watch in horror…if the demon-brat were this strong, then he'd have a difficult fight on his hands; while on the sidelines, Konohamaru looked on with admiration and fear—with a mixture of hope…that if the boss could be this strong, then maybe he could too! Meilan on the other hand, liked that technique—if it didn't put that arrogant man in his place, she didn't know what will.

Unfortunately, Ebisu happened to be very stubborn. His self-assured attitude had returned…maybe the demon brat was in fact a one-trick pony. This was what he told himself as the grin returned onto his features. "That was an impressive display, but you'll need more than just one kenjutsu technique to beat an actual jōnin…and I'll prove it by fighting you!"

Naruto could only sigh to himself. "Very well then… you asked for it. I'm going to turn up the gears on this one. I'll show you that I can manage on my own…" With that said, he placed his hands in a very familiar seal—and once he called out 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!', Ebisu was slightly afraid, but didn't show it as he saw twelve solid copies of Naruto surrounding him. But everyone could tell that the grin on the boy's face meant that he had something in store for the closet pervert. Meilan could only watch in horror as Naruto moved his hands to form the very sequence for a very special henge! It wasn't long until a 'poof' sounded off, and the area around Ebisu was covered in smoke. Once the smoke cleared, he saw one naked girl with good-sized breasts and holding a bamboo stick between them standing right in front of him—then he noted that the other eleven girls were surrounding him with the short poles being held in various revealing positions. His blood pressure then elevated to unreasonably high levels when he felt all twelve of the girls grabbing onto and grinding against various parts of his body. The sexual tension he then received was so much that blood erupted from his nose, and he promptly passed out from the blood loss…barely twitching.

Once the jutsu was dispelled, Naruto had a very wide grin on his face. "Harem no Jutsu a success!" It was then that he realized the repercussions of that technique…when he felt a fist smash into his head from behind—belonging to Meilan. "You do that jutsu in front of me again, and you can consider our dinner-date cancelled forever!"

As he rubbed his head, Naruto could only remember that whenever she was like this, she meant it. And he lucked out because this was her lightest punch—still didn't change the fact that it hurt like hell. "Yeah, yeah…I won't do it again!"

"That was awesome! With you as my sensei I'm sure to get stronger faster!"

"Are you sure about that?"

Upon hearing this, Konohamaru could only look at his improvised sensei with confusion on his features. "Konohamaru, there is no quick way to getting strong. You have to work hard—put in the time to get to the point where you can honestly say you've gotten strong. Hell, look at me…I'm blind, and it took me almost five years to try and overcome that barrier while getting to the point I am at right now; and I am just one of the lucky ones. But for you, you have to be willing to take a hit; be willing to learn from any mistakes you make. I have a dream to be the Hokage too…and not simply so that people can acknowledge me, but to protect everyone I love. So what are you going to do?"

Hearing this speech had made it clear to Konohamaru—he'd been lied to by Ebisu for too long. But all in all, his confusion was then replaced with a frown of confidence. "Who the hell do you think you are? Telling me that I can't follow you? I'm going to train and become a better ninja than you! I'll become Hokage on my own terms!"

Naruto's face had a grin creeping upon his whiskered features—a grin of pride. He knelt down and presented his hand to a surprised Konohamaru. "Good. Get stronger—because the next time I duel you with swords, I want to see that you've gotten better with your own skills. Promise me that by the time I fight you for the title of Hokage, you'll be even stronger than you are today—and with your own two hands."

The younger boy's surprise was clear on his face; this was a promise of a lifetime that was not to be taken lightly, that much he knew. He had much to think about in the long run. Before long, Konohamaru's look of surprise had melted into a smile of determination—and he did what he knew was the right thing to do: he took Naruto's hand in his! "It's a promise!"

As she looked upon the scene before her, Meilan could not help but be touched by the scene before her. As she watched the two of them share the oath between warriors, she could not help but wonder…if this was how Naruto would be like when they had their own child…

…

**_A/N: I'm debating as to whether or not Konohamaru should have a harem himself now…although if I do give him a harem, Moegi's likely to be in it. And as to whether Kikyo's connection to Danzo were by bond or by blood, I will confirm that in this story, it's the latter—that's right, Danzo's own granddaughter is in the harem._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques:_**

**_Palm Blast—Battle Mage_**

**_Ghost Slash—Soul Bender_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Naruto speaking with Hiruzen_**

"**_Comedy" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord #2 with Continuum Shift II"—Konohamaru found out_**

"**_Labyrinth of Moonlight" by Junichi Nakatsuru from "Soul Calibur III"—Kikyo appears and speaks with Danzo_**

"**_Her Most Beautiful Smile" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—Naruto and Konohamaru's oath_**


	12. Archer

**_A/N: Kudos to NorthSouthGorem for serving as my beta-reader—with a glass of 2007 Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon, I toast to our partnership; may our collaboration be the best combination since the formation of the all-woman artist circle, CLAMP!_**

…

[Streets of Konoha, night time…]

The two of them never did manage to get on their lunch date earlier—but it was a moment well worth every second in both of their opinions. And Naruto made good on his promise to take Meilan out to eat—not for lunch, but for dinner. As they walked through the streets dressed in better clothes, Meilan could not help but wonder as to where her boyfriend was taking her, in her white and sleeveless qipao with embroidered lotus blossoms. "Where are we going, Naruto?"

She could only watch as her boyfriend led her by the hand, in his orange kimono and navy-blue hakama, with his katana and short sword tied in the obi. She was used to seeing him shirtless (which was the case here, as he wore nothing under the kimono), but that did not make him any less attractive in her eyes. "Just a place we happened across—when I first passed by it, I thought it smelled familiar. I only hope the people there are willing to welcome me."

"Why does it smell familiar to you?"

"Because Choji smells like he lives there."

Now she was astonished. But then again, Naruto was sort of in 'bloodhound' mode. This was because he was guiding her by his sense of smell. All the same, she wondered as to how sharp his senses were. Before long, the two of them had reached a building with the kanji for 'food' on the sign and placed between the lines 'Chouza's' on top, and 'Bar and Grill' at the bottom. Yep, this was an Akimichi-owned restaurant…according to what she understood of many of the ninja clans, a good deal of them owned businesses when not on shinobi-duty; a case and point being the Akimichi clan—a good number of them owned and operated many of the restaurants in the entire village, in addition to some of them working the agricultural farms and the soldier pill factory they owned in the outskirts. All that aside, she too hoped that the Akimichi were among the friendly clans towards her lover.

The two of them started walking towards the double swinging doors of the bar and grill. All sorts of scents and sounds began to assault Naruto's senses the second he walked in; he could smell sake shots being served along with the smell of tobacco being smoked…he could hear the bickering of several patrons as they gambled over several mon, and waitresses taking orders from customers. Meilan however, found this place to be a bit questionable—and yet, it seemed to have an air of class about it.

"Hello, can you pleas…" The receptionist at the counter froze upon seeing who it was that had arrived…his attitude soon changed from genial to outright spiteful. "We don't serve your kind here, Kyuubi-brat! Now take your sl…"

Before he could finish the word, the receptionist found himself being held at sword-point by a short sword—the tip of which was directly aimed at his larynx. "I can take insults quite well, so you can insult me all you like. But when you're talking about my girlfriend, you will keep a civil tongue in that mouth, or I will sew it shut. Is there an understanding between us?"

The receptionist could only gulp in fear—the demon-child was finally using lethal force! That feeling was momentary, as he realized that he can now go to the Hokage and have that monster executed…hell, maybe he'll be seen as a hero! For now, he could only nod in acknowledgement…he'll get his chance later—the demon-brat would regret not killing him! "Very good, now if you'll be so kind as to get us to a table, we'll be out of your hair in a jiffy."

"I'm sorry…but the bar is full up. Ninja or not, you'll have to go elsewhere."

Naruto's frown had only intensified…he was far from amused at the amount of time this man was wasting. "Now we both know that is not true. I can say with all certainty that there is in fact a small table for two somewhere in the restaurant."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

Upon hearing something interesting, Naruto could only grin. All he had to do was keep on pushing. "I don't have to. You've already done so yourself."

The receptionist could not hold it any longer. His yelling could be heard as he brandished his pen like an ice-pick used for murder. "You stupid demon-brat! Why I ought to…"

Once again, the foolish receptionist was interrupted…this time by a gigantic fist crashing into his face, belonging to a man that looked a good deal like Choji…only older and larger. As he looked up pathetically at the owner of the fist, the receptionist could tell that Akimichi Chouza was not happy—no, not at all, and the rage was clear on his face as he cracked the knuckles of his right hand which had some blood on it while he was gnashing his teeth. "Ginta, have you forgotten that we have a policy around here regarding no discrimination against customers? On top of that, you break the Third Hokage's law, and expect me to let this slide? You're dumber than I thought! Fuji! Hiei!"

As if on cue, two Akimichi members appeared at both of Chouza's sides. "Make sure this idiot does not escape. I'll punish him myself later!"

With a single bow, and a 'Hai, Chouza-sama!', the two Akimichi members grabbed poor Ginta by the elbows, kicking and screaming profanities before they were forced to knock him out with a punch…and then dragging him down to the pantry in the basement. Once that exchange was done, Chouza turned his attention to his two newest customers with a sincere and friendly smile. "Well Naruto, it seems you've got yourself a little date. The last Baihe, am I correct?"

Upon knowing that she was speaking with the clan head, Meilan bowed low from her waist. "It is an honor to meet you, Akimichi-sama."

Chouza waved in a gesture of noncommittal…it was very clear that to him, it was truly no problem. "The honor is mine. Now please excuse the foolishness of my former employee; in compensation for his rudeness, I will see you to your table personally."

Now this little snippet Naruto heard had piqued his curiosity; was it just him, or were a lot of the ninja clans on his side? "That's awfully kind of you Chouza-sama…may I ask why?"

"Don't worry about it. You're pretty much welcome in any Akimichi-owned restaurant…it's probably not much but I hope I can help you out."

Knowing that he was probably not going to get another word out of Chouza on the matter, Naruto was led by the hand to their table while Meilan followed. As two of them walked between the chairs and tables, his thoughts were swimming as to how many people actually wanted to adopt him; and judging from the Akimichi head's reaction towards him, he could tell that he was one of the people that tried and failed to do so—all thanks to the manipulations of the Civilian Council. Ah well, he'll ponder more on it later…for now, he had a date to enjoy; although for some strange reason, he could not help but feel this brief chill that ran up his spine…

…

[4156 Snake-Tongue Way, Apartment 12…at the same time…]

Animalistic moans were heard in the apartment as the scent of sex was present in the air—and unfortunately for Anko, she was missing the partner required for that scent to be legitimate. But that was okay. She did, after all, have material to aid in that—it was not exactly the sanest or most hygienic thing to do; then again, she was known for being crazy. In one hand and pressed against her nose, she held a small towel that hadn't been washed yet—a towel she had observed Naruto using to wipe off his sweat just a little while after he met the Hokage's grandson. The other hand was under her pink underwear—moving in a clockwise elliptical direction up and down along the slit of her pussy…she was getting closer!

She then started thrusting her fingers inside while bucking her hips…her movements ensured that she would be massaging her clit in the process. Yes, Anko had found herself turning into a stalker—no better than the Hyuuga brat before she started hanging around her favorite little fox more often. She was also glad she got this small towel before she did…she knew how hard it was to kill a habit, and if Hinata were anything like her mother, she'd be doing the same as she was. But in either case, she kept it pressed against her nose—inhaling the smell of high-quality steel from a sword that had just been sharpened against a whetstone…the sweetened scent of camellia oil used to protect it from rust…and the ever-dominant smell of foxes that belonged to Naruto. The more she thought of him, the more she wished that instead of her fingers was the length of his manhood that was shooting electrical signals of passion up her spine…that instead of stooping so low as to steal things that had his scent on it, he was pressing his weight upon her as she embraced him, behaving like a cat with its nose directly in front of a large pile of catnip…but above all, instead of listening to him say 'I love you' in her head, she would get to hear his voice as they made love at this very moment.

It was then that she let out a final moan of pleasure as she felt that one jolt of pleasure from her orgasm shoot from her spine, up to her brain, and then back down, transferring the electrical current of her high to all other parts of her body along the way. It wouldn't be long now; she'd run into him as herself, and then if his harem allowed, she'd make her place soon enough in his life…but in the meantime, she'd have to satisfy herself with the fantasies she continued to have…

…

[Chouza's Bar and Grill…]

The two of them were seated at their table—this was an ideal place to be…if only some of the patrons weren't glaring in their direction. As the two of them waited for the arrival of the waiters, Meilan put down the menu as she noted the architecture of the place—it was very well-built, and the room was very spacious. Before long, her eyes fell upon a particular structure at the back of the restaurant, opposite of the kitchen…

"So Meilan, what sight am I missing that has caught your lovely eye?"

She turned to face Naruto—he could practically feel the smile on her face. "I see a stage at the back of the restaurant, with instruments missing their musicians."

"What instruments are we talking about?"

At that, she craned her neck out a little to see what was on the stage. "I see three guitars; one acoustic, one electric, and one bass. I also see a samisen, a koto, a set of drums, some amplifiers, a piano, and a microphone."

"Quite a variety…I wonder what would happen if we had to play at this venue."

Once she turned her attention back to Naruto, Meilan could only grin wider. She thought of all the scenarios that would come with them playing on the stage. "Then I'd get to hear your talent with a guitar again."

The light chuckle was worth hearing from her boyfriend. It made her feel happy whenever he was; perhaps this was part of what love was like between lovers. "Not as much as I'd like to hear with that angelic voice of yours, my beautiful lotus blossom."

Before Meilan could answer and defend the blush that rose upon her face, the waiter had appeared. "How may I take your order?"

"Yes, I'd like a chicken breast special, a catfish with rice, and two green teas."

The waiter had taken down their orders on his notepad, and started walking away. As he left, she could not help but notice the glare he sent towards her love. She simply sighed as she knew this would be an interesting night…she only hoped that this was as far as it went tonight—this was supposed to be a happy night, not one where people would discriminate against Naruto again. Unfortunately, her prayers were never answered, as several patrons walked on up to them…hungry looks in their eyes for her, and glares of hate towards Naruto. This was definitely not a good place to be, if the alcohol she smelled in their breaths were any indication.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing with scum like him, hm?"

At that, Meilan could only glare at the men in anger. "I'm sorry, sir?"

This did not phase the drunkard in the slightest. "Why don't you stop hanging around with that demon brat and hang around with us **_real_**men?"

She could only close her eyes in frustration. She really didn't want to do this, not tonight. This was supposed to be a romantic night, and these drunkards were ruining the moment. With a barely restrained hate in her voice as she grit her teeth, she looked at the inebriate men with fire in her eyes. "Please sir, you don't want to do this."

"I'd listen to her," added Naruto, calmly but coldly as he started reaching for his katana in a subtle fashion, "She can hurt you in ways you can't imagine."

"Hey, shut the fuck up you demon brat! Who the fuck asked for your opinion? Besides, someone as pretty as her is too good for the likes of you!"

Just as Naruto's hand had found itself on the handle of Mizu Hime, he felt a firm grip around his wrist, before he heard the words "Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'll take care of it." It was then that the sound of a seat being pushed back filled the air as Meilan stood up. She had a very disturbing smile on her face. A smile that Naruto knew was there because of the cold aura about her. "Gentlemen, why don't we go outside and discuss this properly?"

Oh, he knew what that voice of hers meant, and to be honest, he was freaked out by that sickly sweet tone of hers. And he could tell that those drunks were ignorant as to the danger they were in. As she led them out the door, Naruto could only follow the seven of them outside the restaurant with a grin on his face. Yes, they were in for it now! The second all six of the drunkards stood outside, their looks of lust were quickly turned to looks of horror as they watched a twelve-year-old little girl land an uppercut into the chin of their apparent leader, land a low kick on another drunkard's shins before following through with a side kick to the stomach, ducked under a punch to throw sand into the offender's eye before jumping on his knee and landing an axe kick to his chin, use his chest as a springboard to spring her into the air—allowing her to stomp on another drunkard's head and then landing an even heavier stomp on his colleague's head, leaving both men in a coma. The last drunk then charged at her from behind with a knife only for her to turn around quickly, jab a fist into his stomach, and then perform a suplex upon him.

Once all six drunks were taken care of, she had a sincere smile upon her face as she walked towards Naruto. The grin on his face had told her that he was overjoyed. "You have just elevated yourself from your status as my beautiful lotus blossom, to my goddess of love."

As Meilan blushed, Naruto could hear a voice in his mindscape belonging to none other than Kurama herself—he could practically feel the pout on her face in her voice and the playfulness in her false jealousy. "And what about me, am I not one of your mates too?"

"You're another of my goddesses—my goddess of fire."

Oh, he could see her licking her lips now—that perverted fox was going to say something else…and he knew that it would make his nose bleed. "Then why don't you come on down here, so I can warm you up with more of my fire?"

What he heard that, he immediately felt something heavy building up in the front side of his underwear—the second he felt Meilan's hand in his, he could not block Kurama's demands that he grab the former by the ass as she walked them back to their table.

…

[Hokage's Office, the next morning…]

He was definitely not amused—the large stacks of paperwork he was receiving, he could handle; what he couldn't handle was the insane amount of unreasonable requests by the Civilian Council! And the worst part of it was that most of them had to do with the beat-down he'd heard about that took place outside of Chouza's bar, all of them practically ordering him to take the girl away from Naruto and forcing her to marry the 'Last Uchiha' for the so-called glory of Konoha. What rubbish! He'd never heard of such nonsense since Hashirama-sensei's time! Now the request to put the Uchiha twins under Kakashi's tutelage, he could understand: Kakashi had a Sharingan, so he could teach those girls a trick or two, and it was something he wholeheartedly agreed with. But to kick Naruto off the ninja ranks and then putting him up for public execution, now that was getting ridiculous!

As if that weren't enough, Hiruzen began to think to himself that he may have made a mistake…the folder before him held more importance than the stacks of paper that taunted him the very second he sat down. Thankfully, before he could think any more on the possible can of worms he had opened, a knock was heard that broke him out of his thoughts. "Come in."

No sooner than he said that, a female ANBU with long violet hair, and a cat mask showed up. She carried a sword slung over her shoulder. "Ah, Neko, how good to see you! Since I assume you know why you're here, you may now take off your mask."

With a nod, the ANBU reached up to her face, and pulled the mask off. He knew who she was—the fact that it was this particular operative made it all the more reassuring to him…although he could see just a hint of the displeasure directed at him from her eyes under her façade of professionalism. He didn't blame her…after all she and Hayate have tried to adopt Naruto, only to be denied—not only by the Civilian Council and a few shinobi clan heads, but by himself as well. "A pleasure, Hokage-sama…I came as soon as I heard that you've selected me as a jounin instructor."

From the barely-restrained hatred lacing her voice with venom, Hiruzen knew that she was using the word 'pleasure' extremely lightly—and the frown on her face directed at him was what made that clear. It made him want to cry for all the wrongs he had done to Naruto; all the things he should have done, all the things he could have done…instead of allowing the Civilian Council to have its way, and turn him into their punching bag. "Very good, as of your promotion, you will be issued your vest. Two of your students will be Uzumaki Naruto and Baihe Meilan."

Neko's eyes had widened—now this, she did not see coming. Hiruzen had never allowed her or Hayate to adopt him. As a matter of fact, he turned down practically everyone that tried to adopt the poor boy, and now he was letting her be Naruto's jounin instructor? What was going on? "That was fast…I was expecting you to bend over and give Naruto over to someone that hated him. Is there something else I should know?"

Hiruzen took in a long drag from his pipe, and expelled a long puff of smoke from his mouth. "I've been doing a lot of thinking…about the past and all. About what I did and didn't do for Naruto…and after a while, I began to realize that Mikoto was telling the truth about me; I've **_have_** in fact become spineless in my old age. I've been allowing the Civilian Council to have too much power to do what they wanted. I've allowed Naruto to be abused for way too long, and even today he is still attacked once or twice by ignorant civilians. Well that ends today. From now on, I'm going to do everything I can to make it up to Naruto. I may be too late in making things right, hell progress may even be too slow, but at least it's a start!"

A bit of a smile had started gracing her features…a slight one of amusement, but a smile nonetheless. "Well, it's about time."

His smile was there for a brief moment, before he turned serious. "Okay then you'll want to sit down to learn who your third student will be."

She looked to the Hokage seriously—something about this third student must bother him. Neko took his advice, and sat down. "Who is the third student I'm teaching?"

Hiruzen did not answer…he simply pulled out the manila folder, and handed it to Neko; the look on his face was that of concern. Whether for her or Uzumaki-kun, she didn't know, but she opened the folder anyway, and started kicking in her speed-reading ability. Her eyes had widened upon reading a particular line…and seeing the portrait next to it. Her shock was very clear in her voice; "Shimura? As in Shimura Danzo…that Shimura?"

"Yes Uzuki, **_that_** Shimura."

"What's her relation?"

"She's his granddaughter…by blood."

"Huh, never thought the old war hawk had a heart for kids."

"I know him better than you…and while your claim may have a grain of salt to it, Danzo does in fact have a softer side—he never married, but it was clear to me then that he had a soft enough spot to have a child with somebody…a son if I recall. I think he was willing to do what he did to ensure that at least Konoha had a family loyal to her; loyal enough to do even the dirtiest of deeds and the most unspeakable of evils. Now don't get me wrong, I do not doubt his loyalty…it's his morals I question, or lack thereof."

"Anything I should know about her?"

"I'm not clear on her, but given her lineage, she has to be skilled at something. Otherwise, why would she be working directly under her grandfather? But I did hear a thing or two regarding her; one thing I most certainly know is that she is one of our best hunters when tracking felons that have escaped the law…a shame too; she fetches high prices with the rogue ninja she's been apprehending."

…

[Meanwhile, on the streets of Konoha…]

Meilan and Naruto were walking towards the Ninja Academy with the former clinging onto the latter's demonic left arm. Their date last night was a very good event…true, they had to beat up one or two patrons, but it was well worth it, and it ended with Meilan finally moving close enough to snuggle up to him in the bed they'd been sharing for the past year or so—even a while after the two of them first met and their trust for each other had grown significantly, they slept in separate beds…but Naruto gradually allowed her to come closer and closer to allow her to sleep in the same bed as him, and that was before he was comfortable enough to allow her to hold his hand in hers.

As the continued walking, ignoring the glares directed at them by many of the citizens, Naruto momentarily froze the second he heard a light 'twang' and the whistle of something flying in the air…it was long, cylindrical, had a sharp point, and was travelling at almost 322 kilometers per hour. He didn't need to ask what it was—that much was obvious enough for him to push Meilan away, and draw his short sword fast enough to intercept the flying object and slice it in half lengthwise! Meilan was about to ask why Naruto had pushed her away when she saw half an arrow imbed itself in the ground between her legs…and it was a close call too, because it was just six centimeters away from her thigh. She then noted that the other half of the arrow had already dug itself into the post of a fruit stall behind her.

Quickly turning her attention to where the arrow came from, Meilan saw a sight she never thought she'd ever see—a moss-haired girl with a dark tan and amber eyes with a short bow in her hands and standing on the rooftops…she would have noted more about the archer, but before long she realized that the would-be assassin was not done yet, as she loaded another arrow onto the bowstring, and started firing three more of them in rapid succession—each arrow being sliced in half by Naruto rather quickly using his short sword. The next arrow being loaded into the bow seemed different…and even Naruto could tell that because the second he felt chakra being pulsed through the next arrow, he could have sworn he smelled something like ionized oxygen and traces of burning silver in the air. It was then that he realized that this was a Raiton-laced arrow that was about to be fired, and the second he heard that 'twang' again, the minute he heard the sound of electricity crackling in the air, he knew what he had to do: he quickly touched his katana, channeled some ghostly power into the blade quickly, and drew the sword fast enough to destroy the arrow and negate its electrical properties with the purple trail of energy.

"Meilan!"

She understood: he never needed to say anything else…but before she could do anything else, she noted that the archer pulled the pin off something, and throw it at their feet—it was clear that this was a grenade, but before Meilan could get Naruto out of the way, she saw smoke being spewed forth from the little black ball. Oh damn! It was a smoke grenade! After a few seconds of coughing up the smoke before it cleared up, Meilan turned her attention back to where the archer was only to see her gone! The little bitch covered her own escape! Now she was going to… "Don't bother Meilan," said Naruto, after grabbing her shoulder gently, "That smoke grenade's scrambled my nose—and with the head start that archer's got, she's probably long gone…for now. And besides, I have a feeling that this isn't the last we've seen of her today."

Upon hearing that from Naruto, Meilan knew that whenever his nose has been scrambled, it meant that it would take some time before he could smell properly again—and in the meantime, the archer had a head-start to flee. With that, she carefully took Naruto's hand in hers, and started guiding him to the academy…unbeknownst to the two of them, the archer watched as the last Baihe and Uzumaki were walking towards the Ninja Academy. Average swordsmen of his age would have been shot dead very easily…a testament to the skill of Uzumaki's teacher. It'll be a little while before they met again…yes, this could be a very good team she's been assigned to indeed…

…

**_A/N: Can anyone catch the "Firefly" reference? As a scientific fact, just FYI, silver is a conductor of electricity—the second best conductor as a matter of fact, with gold being the best. And Spitfires do not use smoke grenades neither do they use short bows._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques (in order of use):_**

**_Muse's Uppercut—Striker_**

**_Low Kick—Striker_**

**_Crouch—Brawler_**

**_Sand Splash—Brawler_**

**_Hammer Kick—Striker_**

**_Silver Bullet—Spitfire_**

**_Ghost Slash—Soul Bender_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Class Intro:_**

**_Gunner—as the name implies, gunner-class characters wield guns, and so their main modus operandi is the keep-away game. This is the first class to have a male and a female variant (both with a few different moves and slightly different stats). The weapons that a gunner can use are revolvers, autoloaders, muskets, hand cannons, and crossbows. Gunners can graduate into one of the following subclasses: Rangers (this subclass favors the revolver and is all about the up-close and personal game…male rangers are chain smokers, while female rangers wear dog tags), Spitfires (likes to use muskets and crossbows, this class is known to also use explosives such as grenades and C-4 detonation packs, as well as special bullets…they are identified by the ammo pack on their backs), Launchers (favors the hand cannon, but they use lots of heavy weapons such as miniguns, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers, they are identified by the rifle on their backs), and Mechanics (they favor autoloaders, and rely upon summoning robots to do the fighting for them…they are identified by the small robot hovering near their shoulders). Kikyo fits under the category of Spitfire to a degree…while another addition to the harem will be a full-blown Mechanic in the same vein as the great professor Kokonoe (no she won't be a nekomimi, but she will have her foul mouth)._**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Godot – Fragrance of Dark Coffee" from "Gyakuten Saiban meets Orchestra"—date at Chouza's restaurant_**

"**_Those Who Fight (Piano Version)" by Nobuo Uematsu from "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children"—Meilan vs the drunks_**

"**_Dispossession (Strings Version)" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier"—Hiruzen sees Neko_**

"**_Samurai 7"" by Kaoru Wada from "Samurai 7"—encounter with the archer_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Hakama—samurai pants_**

**_Qipao—this is the traditional Chinese girl's dress_**

**_Fuji and Hiei—both Akimichi members mentioned are named after mountains in Japan, just like Kurama from "Yu-Yu-Hakusho" or "Naruto"._**


	13. Team Meetings

**_A/N: And now we have another person to bash. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy…]

The class had been sitting down for the past half hour or so now…everybody doing their own thing—Choji was eating as usual, Shikamaru was propped up against a desk and asleep, Shino simply sat where he was, looking disinterested in general, while Kiba seemed to have regained his confidence and started harassing Hinata for a date—while Hinata was holding back enough of her irritation to not strike the dog-ninja in a pressure point that caused pain all over his body, and the Uchiha twins simply sat next to each other playing rock-scissors-paper as the owner of the victorious face changed hands between the two of them. Before long, the arrival of Naruto and Meilan was what had drawn their attention…as the latter seemed to be clinging on the former's left arm. "Hey moron!" called out Kiba, with a confused and angry look on his face, "I know Meilan-chan is allowed to be here, but this is for graduates only! What the hell are you doing here?"

This had elicited a glare directed at him from the founding members of the Naruto fan-club. Naruto simply sighed and turned to face the direction in which Kiba was speaking from, with a bit of a smirk on his features. "You're one to talk about being a moron…considering that you don't see that I'm wearing a hitae-ate. Iruka-sensei noticed that a lot of my grades were based on sabotaged results, and so he was kind enough to give me a re-test. And as of right now, I highly doubt you even deserve a place among the top-ten academic students if you can't even take a hint that a girl is not interested in you."

Upon hearing that, the Uchiha twins blushed along with Meilan. Hinata could only grin in pride that Naruto had defended her. Kiba on the other hand started gritting his teeth in anger—nobody talked to him like that! "Yeah? So what if you've been sabotaged? You're still a talentless nobody of a loser, and a horrible liar!"

Shikamaru had chosen this moment to stop reclining, and look at Kiba with an irritated glare in his eyes. "Geez Kiba! Stop being so noisy and troublesome! If you're so convinced that Naruto's lying, then why don't you ask Iruka-sensei if that's true? Although from what I've seen, he's not too far off the mark about being sabotaged—I once caught several teachers changing his answers after school."

Oh, Kiba could only grin…he'll have his revenge against Uzumaki in one way or another, and having Iruka-sensei blowing the blind freak off in public was just the way to do it! Ah! Speak of the devil! In walked Iruka-sensei with a clipboard in his hands…no doubt for the teams and their respective sensei. Unbeknownst to the whole of the class, save for Naruto, his injuries had been healed rather quickly, but the stabbing pain from Mizuki's attack was still there—as of this moment, he was hoping to get the team assignments down, and just go home for a bit to rest his wounds. Luckily for him, he didn't have to deal with the pain for much longer, as he found his chair and sat down. "Iruka-sensei, is it true that you gave Naruto a re-test?"

Iruka was surprised, but he didn't show it. So that was Naruto's cover-story…ah well, since this mission was supposed to be top-secret anyway, he may as well play along. "That is correct Kiba—when looking back on all the tests, I noticed that a lot of the handwriting on Naruto's tests didn't match. Not only that, but I also noticed that they were in **_kana_** and not **_Braille_**. So after realizing that he's been telling the truth about the extent of the sabotage against him, I decided to re-test Naruto on the written exam. And I'll have to say, his score was pretty high—it's not as high as the Uchiha twins, but still high enough."

Upon hearing what the teacher had to say, the students could only look to Naruto with mystified looks in their eyes. The Dead-Last was actually smarter than they thought? Now this they had to see. The sound of Iruka clearing his throat had interrupted them from their thoughts. "Let's get back to business everyone…I'm proud of all of you to have made it this far. I wish for all of you to have a productive future in your ninja careers. And without further ado, I shall announce the team placements and the jounin sensei you shall be assigned to…"

As Iruka started calling out the team names, and the sensei they were each assigned to, Naruto started dozing off, listening to the names that came up in much the same manner as counting sheep. As he listened in, he knew that Teams One through Six were all unremarkable students in his eyes—many of them were civilian-born students looking for a quick way to fame and fortune (although in the case with a good many of the female students, they were originally there to seduce the alpha-male of the group). They had no idea what the real world was like out there…and he knew this because he and Meilan already had a head start in that area. "Team Seven will consist of Uchiha Tsukiko…"

Upon hearing her name being called, Tsukiko started to tense up a bit—she was hoping that she'd get both her and her sister on the same team as Naruto. Silently, she was praying to whatever god may have been listening. "…Uchiha Sasuke…"

The twins could only jump up and land a high-five upon hearing that! "…and Haruno Sakura; your Jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." The two of them deflated upon the impact of their hands—well, they didn't get Naruto, but they got their appointed sex toy, which was already a consolation prize. "Team Eight will be Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba—your jounin sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai."

Her palm met with her forehead as Hinata knew that Kiba was not exactly a savory character…Shino, she could deal with as she had befriended him first—but something seemed to be wrong with Kiba's hormone production, because he always seemed so anxious to ask her out for a date. And to make things worse in his case, what he did had not exactly won him a high opinion from her after that incident where he tried to rape a certain member of the family…her **_direct_** family! Of all the people that animal tried to take, he had to choose her little sister! She could only think to herself that Kiba would get a worse punishment than simply being forced to watch gay porn live…oh no, she'll neuter him herself if she has to! But until then, she has to cooperate with him.

"Team Nine is still active, and so we'll get to Team Ten—which will be made up of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." At that, only two of the members of Team Ten were less than pleased…Ino had wanted to be on the same team as Naruto, whom she saw as a consolation prize in romance if Sasuke was unreachable—but no; she had to be paired up with lazy-boy and the round-yet-adorable Choji. Shikamaru on the other hand, could only think of all the trouble that could be heaped on with the situation. Choji was simply ecstatic at the fact that he was working with his friends…Ino was one of the few who did not make fun of him; were it not for the fact that she had her sights on Sasuke (whom he had barely started to respect more) and Naruto (from whom he had a good deal more respect); Shikamaru was another person that was actually kind to him.

"And finally, we have Team Eleven: Uzumaki Naruto and Baihe Meilan…your third member has not been identified yet, but she'll be here as well as your sensei; Uzuki Yuugao." This was not actually a surprise—but Meilan pulled Naruto closer to give him a hug anyway, eliciting glares of jealousy in her direction from all the core members of the Naruto fan-club.

"Everyone, you will sit and wait here for your sensei to pick you up. Other than that, I wish you all good luck." With that, Iruka left the premises…with nobody except Naruto noticing the slight limp in his steps.

…

[Elsewhere…]

The sound of blades clashing filled the air as two swordsmen dueled with each other…the corpses of many ninja from Otogakure no Sato littered the battlefield as they were hacked to pieces in the place that was once their camp. Some of them were cut apart by their leader—a gaunt and pale man with white hair and two dots on his forehead held a pair of short swords made of hardened bone that was currently using both blades to hold the edge of his opponent's massive sword. This was insane! How could such an old man be this strong? It was then that the younger man managed to push the blind old man back in one mighty push. It was then that the two swordsmen took the opportunity to catch their breath.

"You fight well," said the old man, "going by what I've been able to discern from our battle alone and by your scent of bones, your talent among your fellow clansmen is superb, young Kaguya. In my opinion, I feel that you're wasting your talent fighting for a pathetic lowlife who does not deserve your loyalty."

"And what would a blind old man such as yourself know of such things?" countered the Kaguya, veiling his anger upon hearing his lord being referred to as a 'lowlife', "Although I will admit—you are no ordinary old man. Who are you?"

"You can call me GSD."

The Kaguya's eyes had widened. This blind old man was the almighty swordsman GSD? It was no wonder he was having so much trouble…even before he was taken in by Orochimaru, he knew of this man… "I've heard whispers about you from my clansmen…the stories told of an old swordsman who was able to manipulate the power of chakra waves to his command—that he was able to decimate great armies with a sweep of his swords as the waves cut the enemy soldiers to pieces. You're telling me that you are that same man that my clansmen told stories about?"

"I wouldn't know of such things…as I am not a member of your clan. But perhaps your clansmen have exaggerated my abilities."

"No, I can see that they are not exaggerations—the way you carry yourself, and the ease at which you've mauled my men to death is proof enough to me of your prowess…I just never expected that you'd be an old man of all things…"

"And I never expected such a sickly boy to be so strong and talented—I know of only one other boy with as much talent as you, and he is my student. If I could hazard a guess, I'd say that the two of you are about even in terms of skill and strength. But enough of this banter, where is your master? There are some matters I wish to discuss with him."

Upon hearing this, the Kaguya narrowed his eyes at GSD. His suspicion was very clear, but he was able to veil it in his voice very well—in addition to tightening the grip on his swords. Who did this man think he was? He butchered everyone in his camp, started a fight with him (and his master by extension), and now this old fool expects him to give up the location of Orochimaru? "How do I know that you are not going to trade blows with him?"

"I cannot guarantee the results of my discussion, because how it ends will all depend on his reply. I only hope that he will listen and that I will not have to exchange blades with him. Either way, I will have my words with him; whether you want me to or not…the only say you have in this is whether or not you will take me to him peacefully. And if I may be frank about our battle just now, I wasn't even fighting seriously."

Now this had caught the young Kaguya's attention. GSD was not fighting him seriously? If that's the case, then what would it be like if he did? Perhaps he should give this old man the benefit of the doubt and lead him…and besides, it's not like he can't kill him if the debate between him and Orochimaru-sama goes south…

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy…one hour later…]

Only five people remained in the classroom after everyone else was picked up by their jounin sensei…and of those five, only one boy was among them (with one of the lovely ladies in disguise). As Sakura scanned the room for her mistresses, she noted that the two of them were snuggled up to Naruto-baka, who was under that bimbo's arm…all four of them were asleep. While her outer self was sort of disgusted at the sight before her eyes, the inner self was torn between saying; 'Aw, how cute', 'C'mon! C'mon! Get to the perverted stuff already so I can have some masturbation material later', and 'What do those three see in him?' Although she did have to admit that Naruto was in fact not very bad-looking, but her mistresses looked even sexier than him! So what was it about him that attracted the both of them and all those other girls? Once when she asked, Tsukiko told her that she wouldn't understand even if she explained it to her, and then Satsuki added that the main part of it was that he wasn't like the rest of the village.

Now Sakura was confused—what was it about the Dead-Last that attracted both of her mistresses? What was it about him that made him different from the other villagers? He was not the Dead-Last without reason…his grades were the lowest in the class; although to be fair, he did mention that he was being sabotaged since day one, and Iruka-sensei and Shikamaru had both confirmed it. But before she could think any more on the subject, the doors opened and in walked a woman with violet hair—now this was the way she wanted to look when she grew up!

"Team Eleven, you are to meet me in Training Ground 18."

Upon hearing that voice permeate through the air, and watching as the jounin left, the twins could only pout. They wanted to keep snuggling up to the blind Uzumaki. "Don't worry," he said, with a mischievous grin, "I have an idea for you to have fun with your sensei…" With that, he motioned for the two of them to get closer, as he started to whisper something that Sakura couldn't hear—but whatever it was that he said was likely to be bad for the jounin if the evil grin on both of her mistress' faces was anything to go by…and the low but ominous chuckle that emanated from the both of them was not making it any better.

"You got all that?"

The two of them continued to have that grin on their faces as they both said 'yes' at the same time. "Good, then I hope to see the two of you later." With that said, Meilan took Naruto by the hand, and started leading him out the door…the second that the two of them left the classroom, Tsukiko (disguised as Sasuke) turned her attention back to their slave. Boy or girl, whenever either of the twins wanted to be seductive (especially Tsukiko), they were successful in convincing the people they were seducing. "Sakura, be a good slave and help my sister to prepare for our prank…"

With an ecstatic grin and a nod, Sakura ran with her sister to the door and began preparing the chalkboard erasers for the trap—then Satsuki (disguised as Tsukiko) found the string and ninja tripwire needed. The pink-haired girl felt giddy as an electrical current ran up her spine at the fact that she was aiding and abetting her mistresses in punishing the tardy teacher from tying the thick strings to the five chalkboard erasers at certain lengths. Once every eraser was properly-prepared, the Uchiha twins started setting up the important parts of the trap while Sakura handled rigging the door with the tripwire. It turned her on as she saw Tsukiko sitting atop Satsuki's shoulders as she stapled the strings to the ceiling and holding the erasers to the ceiling with the other end of the tripwire. Once all five erasers were set and the ninja wire prepared, the three of them gathered together at the desks…with nothing to do but wait…

…

[Training Ground 18…]

Meilan and Naruto had both made it to the training ground with no problem aside from the occasional glare directed at the latter from ignorant civilians. It didn't take long for the both of them to find the clearing that Meilan saw was the meeting place marked on the map. As the two of them sat and waited for their sensei, they could not help but have a feeling they were being watched, and this was especially the case with Naruto who was actually smelling something in the air…now that was interesting…

Once Naruto had suddenly turned his head in a direction opposite of them with a bit of a grin on his face, Meilan could only look at her boyfriend with confusion in her eyes. "Come on out…I know you're here. What, you thought I wouldn't recognize the scent of bamboo your arrows just so happen to be made of, when there's nothing but fir trees around?"

Now she knew what he was talking about! Once she knew, Meilan got up into a fighting stance as she pulled the gloves on her hands tighter—just in case that bitch decided to try anything else. Sure enough, out walked the archer that shot at Naruto…and now that she had a better look, she could not help but feel jealous of the archer that seemed to be her opposite in many respects. While the two of them shared the same height Meilan had a larger bust, she had more definition to her muscles, her skin was paler due to the fact that the Baihe family was pretty well-off, she had coffee-colored eyes, and her black hair was tied behind her back in a bun covered by a white cloth.

The archer on the other hand was slightly daintier, but you could see the wiry strength in the dark tan of her shoulders and her upper-arms. Her shoulder-length moss-colored hair was tied in a ponytail behind her back, and her amber eyes were like those of a beast waiting to attack. She also wore provocative clothing, as she only wore bandages to cover her bust, and a pair of grey sashinuki hakama tied over her calves. Her legs were bandaged, and her feet were bare. The biggest defining feature of the archer however were the four medium-green stripes going diagonally up her face from the bottom of her right cheek that stretched with her feral, yet very-much impressed grin. The evidence that proved that this girl was in fact the archer that shot at Naruto was the fact that she had a compound bow slung over her shoulders, leather bracers on both of her arms (suggesting that she was ambidextrous), and a quiver of arrows hanging on her right side. "I see your senses are very sharp," she said, the untamed part of her showing in her speech and smile, "perhaps I'll get to see how well you handle yourself as a tracker in our team of three."

Upon hearing those words, Meilan could only widen her eyes in shock—Naruto's expression on the other hand had changed from a grin that said 'I found you!' to a wide gape upon hearing that. What was that she just said? '…in our team of three'? It was then that Meilan chose the moment to speak. "You're our third teammate?"

"Right and on the first try…I guess there is more to you than just your abnormally large bust!"

Just as she was about to perform divine justice upon her rival, Meilan felt a hand land on her shoulder belonging to Naruto. "Don't," he said, "she's baiting you." Once he knew that she had calmed down, Naruto released his hold on her before turning his attention back to the archer. "As for you Ms. Rude, I'd recommend that you learn a few manners—you're really going to piss someone off if you keep this up no matter how pretty you smell."

This had caused a reaction from the archer as she was blushing furiously, but before she could retort, the jounin sensei had appeared. "Good to see you're all here. Now if you'll please sit down, we can get this show on the road." The three students could only nod as they took seating positions around their sensei. Once she was satisfied with all three of them sitting down, the jounin got down cross-legged. "Before we begin, we'll start with introductions…I'd like to know your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams—and any special skills you may have to contribute to the team. And just to start things off and show you how it goes, I'll begin: my name is Uzuki Yuugao. I like my fiancé, flowers, and my sword. I dislike sexists, thieves, and people who mock my fiancé. My hobbies would be training and growing new flowers. My dream is to have a family with children that I can be proud of. I think you can consider me a very good swordswoman. Okay then, first up is the moss-head."

Taking offense to the moniker, the archer simply calmed herself and forced herself to not shoot the sensei. "My name is Shimura Kikyo. I like the wilderness, tree-climbing, my grandpa, and being in the air. I dislike people that disrespect my grandpa or nature, sitting around doing nothing for too long, and perverts. My hobbies are bird-watching and drawing animals. My dream is to find a way to attain world peace…my special skills are archery and fine-tuned senses from living in the wilderness."

As she looked at the girl, Yuugao had her own thoughts. _So she's an archer eh? I'm pretty sure Danzo was a swordsman…I'm guessing she inherited that skill from her mother, because I recall her father being a civilian kendo practitioner that taught me and Hayate the basics of kenjutsu. But all in all, I think her skills will be handy as a long-range support ninja. Hmm, or perhaps she can do more than just provide covering fire…_ Once she was snapped out of her thoughts, she then turned her attention to Meilan. "Bun-girl, you're up!"

Meilan could not tell if she was joking about her bust size or simply stating the fact that her hair was in a bun, but she decided to begin anyway. "My name is Baihe Meilan. I like flowers, sweets, music, and a certain boy…" at that, she turned her eyesight to Naruto with a slight blush and a girlish grin, before she turned back to the teacher, with a stern look. "I dislike people who play horribly, perverts, people who hurt the boy I like, and girls that think I will just let them have his heart without so much as an inspection. My hobbies include singing, cooking, and spending time with the boy I like…as per skills, I am well-versed in my family's taijutsu style, am strong, and I have a bit of an affinity for Raiton jutsu. Dream-wise, I hope to marry the boy I like, and to help him see his dream through."

Taking in everything she heard from the last Baihe, Yuugao had plenty of thoughts about her. _Hmm…so the last Baihe likes the last Uzumaki/Namikaze, and is looking to restore her family to its former glory with him. And on top of that, she wants to help him see his dream through…which is what exactly? As to her strength, I can believe that—all the Baihe members I've met tend to have superhuman strength going for them; and that's without adding chakra to their blows. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do with her._ Once her assessment of Meilan was complete, she then turned to Naruto. "Blondie, it's your turn now."

With a shrug, Naruto simply leaned forward to speak. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, my friends, Hokage-jiji, GSD-sensei, and Meilan. I dislike the time it takes to make ramen, people who hurt any of my friends, and morons who can't tell the difference between a kunai and a scroll it's sealed into. I like to play the guitar, train, and meditate. My dream is to become the Hokage so that I can protect the people I love. I am a swordsman with a certain degree proficiency in each of the weapons you see strapped to my back, and am fairly well-versed in the teachings of my sensei who is by far the best swordsman I have ever met."

As she looked to her student with some modicum of surprise, Yuugao inspected his choice of weapons. _This kid is a swordsman? Then what the hell is he doing with a tetsubo? But nonetheless, I want to see just what it is his master taught him—I'm not sure what sort of lessons he learned, but it'll be interesting to see all the same. Plus, from teaching him a few techniques, he may show me a new trick or two, and maybe even teach my future children those same techniques. But for now, I've got to get back to business…and part of that business is to make that kid eat a more healthy diet._

"Very well then, now that team introductions are out of the way, it is my responsibility as your jounin sensei to tell you about the test that is to come." Upon seeing no looks of questioning from any of her students, Yuugao was surprised—hell, she even expected shock. Perhaps this will be an easy class to teach. "Seeing as I'm not hearing any objections, I shall get started: now normally, the bell test would be the standard test given to new genin—however, I do have a test in mind to see how the three of you work. Here's my situation; apparently, a ninja by the name of Hatake Kakashi constantly irritates the female shinobi population by reading a certain orange book filled with the smuttiest of words. For a moment, we rejoiced that he did not read that book in public (as it was rumored that it was stolen from him) right up until that lecherous worm went and bought himself a new copy! I want the three of you to steal that book from him by the time the test for his students is over…if you fail, then I am sending all three of you back to the academy for some better schooling, am I understood?"

Seeing Naruto grin with sincere confidence was enough to tell her everything. The fact that Meilan had shared that confidence was what sealed the deal for her. "No problem," said Naruto, "we'll have that book for you by the end of tomorrow."

Yuugao knew this to be a fact—in olden days, when Naruto was younger, he always made an effort to keep every promise he made. As she saw the true confidence in his face, she found herself wanting to test him. "All right then…I'll hold you to that. Now the test is likely to start at Training Ground 3 tomorrow morning—you have until sunset to get this done. You either come back to me with that book, or you don't come back at all. Do I make myself clear?"

At the nods she was seeing from all three students, Yuugao smiled. "Good…then we are dismissed for today!" Once all three students had risen, Naruto had sneezed twice.

"Something wrong Naru-kun?"

"Nah—I think somebody's talking about me…two somebody's if that's the case. By the way Kikyo-san, I wasn't kidding when I said you had a pretty scent; I'm picking up alder, a dash of fresh-cut grass, and most definitely pine oil off you."

Upon hearing that, Kikyo scoffed. "Who would talk about you in any fashion? And what do I care how I smell?" As she walked away, she was glad she had turned quickly. She didn't want Uzumaki or his big-breasted girlfriend to see how jealous she really was…she also didn't want either of them to see that she was blushing at Naruto's comment about her scent. The second she found herself a good distance away from her teammates, she let out a light, but most definitely giddy and girly giggle.

…

[Meanwhile, at the roof of the Konoha Ninja Academy…]

So the day as a jounin instructor had started badly for him…it would be a bad day for you too if you were hit by five chalkboard erasers in total; but maybe he could salvage the day, and the good thing was that he had no demon-child to teach! He remembered the day that the Kyuubi no Kitsune hit Konoha—so many had died that night, and this included his beloved Rin…and Minato-sensei…and his wife…all of whom had been killed by that 'horny slut' as Kushina had playfully called her tenant once. Yes, he knew the Kyuubi was a woman…but that didn't matter—what he wanted more than anything in the world was to kill that demon slut for impersonating the son of his sensei. But all in all, he had work to do. "Now that we're here, why don't you take off your disguise Sasuke? I'm pretty sure nobody's going to see you…present company excluded of course."

The look of surprise that crossed the Uchiha-boy's face had made itself clear before Sasuke placed his hands together and said 'Kai', thus dispelling the genjutsu. When the smoke cleared up, Kakashi found that he was looking at an exact clone of Uchiha Tsukiko. With that thought put out of his mind, he let out a sigh. "Okay then, let's get to work. How about we start by getting to know each other? You know; your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future."

It was Sakura who had questions while the twins paid attention to their teacher. "Um, Kakashi-sensei, why don't you start so you can show us how it's done?"

With his infamous eye-smile, Kakashi sighed and settle back. "Since you asked so nicely, I'll start; my name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes? Don't feel like telling. My dislikes? None of your business. My hobbies? Not my place to tell. My dreams? Most definitely not your business."

All three students had looks on their faces that made their displeasure clear…but before any of them could retort, they had to remember that this was their teacher—he was likely to take them down quite easily. "Pinkie, you're up."

Upon hearing of her nickname, Sakura was about to gnash her teeth at the teacher, until she thought of all the perverted stuff her mistresses were going to do to her to calm herself down. She was a slave to their pleasures after all. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" at this point, she looked at both of her mistresses. "My hobbies include reading, and…" she then looked to both her mistresses. "My dream…is kinda fulfilled in a way. I dislike Naruto-baka and Ino-shishi!"

Kakashi had to resist the urge to slam his palm into his face. _Great…I've got a fan-girl! This is just perfect! And to top it all off, this is a lesbian fan-girl! What was Sarutobi-sama thinking when he put this team together? Ah well, too late to do anything about it now…I know! Maybe I can find a substitute for my 'Icha-Icha' series in the event it gets stolen again! If only I can time it just right…_ All perverted thoughts put out of his mind, Kakashi then turned to the twins. "Double-trouble, it's your turn!"

Both of the twins grinned at the teacher with mischief written across their faces. Before long, the two of them pulled each other closer together with one arm so that their breasts were squeezing against each other, and they both used the other hand to make them turn their heads to face the jounin—who was on the verge of having a fountain of blood erupt from his nose upon seeing the pose they were in. The twin on Kakashi's left started. "I am Satsuki…"

The twin on the right continued. "And I'm Tsukiko…

At this point, both twins spoke at the same time. "And we're the Uchiha twins. We don't have too many likes aside from our mother and a certain boy, and we have plenty of dislikes. Our hobbies are training in kenjutsu with our mother, practicing to get that boy into our grasp, playing pranks, and meditating. Our dream…no, our ambition is to kill **_that man_**, and to revive our clan with the boy we like at our side."

Upon hearing that she was nothing but practice to seduce that ignorant Naruto-baka, Sakura was a bit disheartened—but then again, she looked to the positive side; maybe she'll finally get to see why the two of them like him so much! Plus, it was both hot and cool the way they both listed out their dream. It was hot enough that she wanted to masturbate to seeing the two of them in that position the second she got home.

Kakashi on the other hand had different thoughts. _Figures the two of them still want to kill him…although I suppose it works out—Itachi was a man that protected that demon slut, so he deserves to die. I help the twins get their revenge, and I may in turn have an easier path to_**_my_**_revenge! And the fact that I'm training a pair of Uchiha makes my vengeance all the easier. But for now, I will wait to see if they're worthy…and maybe by the time I'm done training the both of them, they'll see that mass-murdering bitch for what she really is before they make a mistake in marrying her!_

"All right then, now that that's over with, I think it's my responsibility to tell you about the survival exam I'm going to have the three of you do."

All three students looked at the jounin with confusion in their eyes. As usual, it was Sakura who had the first question. "Survival exam? But Kakashi-sensei, I thought we already took care of that in the academy."

The ominous laugh that came from the teacher was what made her nervous. What he was about to say was going to bring down their self-esteem. "That exam was just to see who had the potential to be genin. The **_real_** exam will determine who is actually ready to be genin. And to be honest, the test has a 70% chance for failure. So if the three of you want to be ninja, you'll have to pass this exam I'm about to impart upon you. I want the three of you to meet me at Training Ground number 3 at eight sharp tomorrow morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast; you'll just throw up." With that said, Kakashi shunshined away, leaving all three students with desperate looks on their faces—well, he left Sakura with a desperate look on her face. There was no way in hell she was going to fail and allow her mistresses to go on without her! The Uchiha twins simply had a look of confidence on their faces…with their teamwork, they'll make sure that Kakashi will think they're worth his time!

But for now, they would need their full strength—it wouldn't do to fight a war on an empty stomach after all…

…

**_A/N: Sorry about revealing the Hyuuga girl's identity so soon, but I figured…screw it; add Hanabi to Naruto's harem, and allow Nami to be in Konohamaru's little harem if I can just get to him. The reason for that was because I wanted to give Hinata a legitimate reason to be angry with Kiba to the point of hating him. I'm also sorry for Kakashi-bashing (I like the guy too), but I really needed more specific characters to bash other than just Kiba, the majority of the civilians, some ninja, and Hiruzen (to a lesser degree)._**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Sad But True" from "Resident Evil 5"—GSD vs Kimimaro_**

"**_Comedy" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue: Continuum Shift"—Preparing for the prank_**

"**_Arurian Dance" by Nujabes from "Samurai Champloo"—Team Yuugao introductions_**

"**_Kakashi's Theme" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Team Kakashi introductions_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Kana—this is the traditional Japanese writing systems; you have hiragana, katakana, and kanji, all being used together in the same written language._**

**_Sashinunki Hakama—these are samurai pants that can be tied._**


	14. Fires

**_A/N: At the request of a particular reviewer, a certain Exorcist by the name of Higurashi Hiten will be having points in the story where his romance with Uchiha Mikoto will be revived. I wonder how Tenten is going to take having the Uchiha twins as stepsisters. Give thanks to TrixBella for joining in my team of beta-readers. I feel like we're becoming CLAMP already. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Higurashi Arsenal, Living Space…]

The morning had started for Higurashi Hiten as any regular day would—with that big blazing bag of feathers pecking at him gently. Now don't get him wrong, he loved that bird, but sometimes she was annoying…and he knew what exactly she wanted at this hour; although he would've preferred that she leave him be so that he could sleep some more. With a loud yawn and a stretch that exposed his massive and well-defined muscles, Hiten got up from the futon after stretching his neck and then scratching his sideburns. She wasn't an ordinary bird—she resembled a red secretary bird with large flaming wings and tail feathers, short legs, a flaming plume on the back of her head, and blue eyes…she was a phoenix. "You do realize that you have projects to complete today don't you?" asked the bird, as she perched on his shoulder, looking into his groggy eye with her own sapphire-colored ones.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Hiten, a hoarse tone in his voice trying to shake the sleepiness away, "although if you wanted me to get you breakfast, you could've just asked me Hiko."

"Nah, it's more fun to bug you while you're sleeping. But all joking aside, maybe you really need to get something to eat…maybe even a mug of black tea," she quipped.

Hiten grunted, "Who do you think you are, my mother?"

"Why don't you think of me as a permanent wife instead?" the bird asked, looking at him with an amused expression, "We are after all bonded together by that summoning contract upon completion of your schooling as an exorcist."

A drawn out sigh escaped his lips, "Whatever…"

As he got up, he stretched his back, resulting in loud satisfying cracks, while he looked around the den. Eventually, Hiten's eyes had found the gigantic rosary he had worn when he was still being schooled as a priest in the nearby temple. The beads were so large that they were each roughly the size of a baby's head (which was already small enough in his hands); and the reason for that was because with such large hands, it was very hard to chant sutras when the rosary breaks with every chant. Ah, those were the days…when his colleagues in the temple were intimidated by his size and he had a good laugh with some of them. The only man that was not afraid of him and was capable of hurting him was the abbot himself; the man was no taller than his waist, was almost eighty years old at the time he studied under him, and he was still capable of hitting him over the head with that fucking cane of his…and he learned the hard way that the old man hit hard! He could've sworn that wooden stick had an iron core in it! While he respected that old geezer (heavens rest his soul) and loved him like a father, he hated when that man threatened him with the cane—and he especially didn't like when he brandished it in both hands while saying "Somebody gonna get a hurt REAL BAD…" in a dark and ominous voice.

With a small chuckle, he simply started walking towards the closet, and put on his fireproof clothes with Hiko on his shoulder. Once he was dressed up properly, he walked downstairs and into the kitchen, and saw a sight that made his day brighter as she was sitting at the table enjoying a bowl of cereal.

His daughter smiled at him and waved at the both of them, "Hi Daddy! Hi Hiko!"

Oh yes, the one good things in his life so far. Whenever he looked at Tenten's pretty little face, he always thought back to her mother…while Mina only had her hair tied up in one bun, it was clear that his little princess had inherited the makings of her mother's lithe and graceful body type and her good looks if her tan were any indication; maybe a bit of his strength to add to the combination.

"Hey princess, did you sleep well?" Hiten asked.

Before she could answer, the chime had sounded off. As his daughter ran to the counter with a shout of "I'll get it!" Hiten could only grumble to himself while walking to the refrigerator and pulled out an airtight box from the bottom shelves. Low curses escaped his mouth as he placed it on the counter and opened it with a hiss, allowing the phoenix to jump off her friend's shoulder to start eating away at the contents of the box—which happened to be large mice.

"I don't know what your problem with that thing is," began Hiko, as she swallowed a mouse in her beak while looking at him, "I happen to like the sound of it."

Hiten found his way to the coffee machine, and started pouring himself a mug of that rich Tea Country-grown drink, while starting to pour the cream and some syrup in. Once he was satisfied with the combination, he started lifting the mug to his lips. "Yeah, but you're not the one working with a hammer and an anvil all day long—something that I prefer the sound of whenever I'm working. That fu…"

"Daddy, I have a…"

The second he heard Tenten speak, Hiten jolted as he was startled, causing the hot coffee to splash all over his face. As he howled in pain from the burning coffee, he cursed whatever deity it was that had plagued him with things that constantly interrupted him as he was in the middle of his thoughts! First it was a hungry Hiko, then it was that god-forsaken chime, and now it was his sweet and precious little girl…who had currently gotten him settled down on a seat, and started wiping the coffee off his face. "Kami! I'm sorry Daddy! I'm sorry!"

Waving his hands to dismiss her concern, while trying to find the cold water to sooth his face, "No, that's okay…you didn't mean to…"

All the while, Hiko was trying to stifle her laughter by turning her head and hiding her beak behind her wing. Tenten leveled a glare at the blazing bag of feathers before turning her attention back to her father. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine after a bit. Now what did you want to tell me?" Hiten asked.

Tenten's concern was momentarily put aside as she remembered what she was thinking about beforehand, "Oh yeah, I have a customer that wants to see you personally," she said plainly.

Hiten looked at his daughter with the obvious question marks written across his face.

"She insisted that you might know of it," she explained.

That said, he heaved a sigh while getting up from the table. "Okay then. I'll handle that customer…you just go on and have a good day Princess."

Tenten couldn't reach her father whenever he stood up to his full height of 244 centimeters, and so she tugged on his arm—that gesture was enough to tell him that she wanted him to get closer. Once he was low enough, she gave him a peck on the cheek before she started running away. "Bye Daddy! I love you!"

…

[Higurashi Arsenal, Store…]

She didn't know what brought her here—she was pretty sure that she was stocked full up on scalpels, she was up to the nines in eye-opening clamps, and she was very certain that she didn't need a weapon save for a few kunai. What the hell was she doing here? And then she realized her reason for being here in the first place—the excuse to bring her here was in her hands…she'd not been using it in a while, but that did not mean she shouldn't take care of it.

Before she could go any further into her thoughts, she saw Hiten's little girl walk up to her. "He'll be out in a moment Mikoto-san," she said with a sincere grin on her face, "I've got to get to my team!"

Mikoto could not help but grin with that little girl…and yet she could not help but feel that she was hiding something in that smile as she practically skipped away. "You have a nice day Tenten!" At that point, she began to wonder…if she had not married that bastard, would things have been any different between her and Hiten? Would she still have married him, much less proposed to him? Would they have gotten past the kissing-and-cuddling stage?

"Beautiful isn't she?"

Ah, speak of the devil…the very person she was thinking about, had just appeared. "She looks like her mother, but I can see your strength in her…if her ability to throw weapons of any size were any indication."

"Of that I know…sometimes if I know I'm in the wrong, I find myself on the receiving end of those swords in her scroll. But all joking aside Mikoto, what can I do for you today?"

"I was wondering if you could help me," said Mikoto, putting her hand in the bag and pulling out the contents, "I need this blade sharpened."

Now this blade he knew—it was the sword that saved his life, and started the relationship he had with Mikoto. It was a little shorter than the standard katana, but it was also durable without sacrificing drawing speed, had an electric blue finish, and had an indigo lacquer sheath and handgrip with brass fittings. This weapon fit its name as "Shin Ikazuchi", because of its light weight, near-unbreakable construction, and the fact that it aided with Raiton chakra-based attacks. This was a hand-me-down from her father. He looked back and forth at the woman in front of him and the blade in her hands with a raised eyebrow, "I know you're more than capable of sharpening this sword Mikoto, and I'm pretty sure you don't need it, so why come to me?"

As she spoke, Mikoto had to resort to the one trick that managed to get him to do anything for her…she looked up to him with big, watery eyes that threatened to cry. Self-degrading, but it usually worked with him. "I don't have the time, and because I need to take care of it—if only for sentimental reasons…and besides, I can't sharpen it like you can." And to her joy, it still worked like a charm.

Hiten sighed, "Okay then, I'll sharpen your sword for you. If you'd like, you can follow me into the forge so that you can inspect it for yourself."

Her spirits lifted, Mikoto almost jumped for joy…this was indeed a good step to repairing their relationship as lovers! Little did the two of them know that someone was listening in from outside the doorway with hands up in prayer to any gods listening…

…

[Meanwhile, at Training Ground 3, one hour later…]

The twins simply looked at their slave with dark grins on their face. Sakura currently had her hands tied up behind her and her ankles were tied together as she sat on her knees—practically hogtied. She just knew that she was in trouble…she just didn't know how deep though. "We let you get away with what you called Naruto-kun yesterday because we have something far more important to do today," began Satsuki, "so thank whatever bodhisattva you pray to for the fact that Kakashi-sensei gave us this test…"

"…and to make sure you learn your lesson about badmouthing Naruto-kun," continued Tsukiko, taking out a scroll, "we're going to punish you in a new way." It was then that she pulled the scroll open, bit her thumb, and ran it over one line…causing an odd-looking dildo to appear.

Satsuki then turned to face Sakura with that dark grin still on her face while Tsukiko turned a dial at the base of the sex toy, causing it to vibrate even faster as she turned it before she started brandishing it with her hand, tapping the other end in her other hand in a threatening gesture. "We're going to put this inside of you if you say something stupid about Naruto-kun again…"

"…and if you so much as moan at any time before we pull it out of you, your punishment will be even worse!" finished Tsukiko, pushing up their slave's face from beneath the chin with the dildo. Once done, they both started speaking at the same time. "If you help us pass this test, then you can consider your little offense yesterday water under the bridge; but if we fail this test because of you, then we'll make you wish we shoved this dildo into your pussy. Do you understand?"

She could only nod in acknowledgement frantically—while BDSM turned her on to a degree, Sakura really did not enjoy the prospect of being tortured to get a high from her mistresses. She knew where to draw the line…especially since the both of them could torture her in such a manner that only they would be able to enjoy any of it. With an assurance that she would choose her words carefully when regarding Naruto in the future, the twins nodded to each other, and started untying her before pulling the gag off.

"Now that we have an understanding," began Tsukiko as she turned off the dildo, and then sealing it back in the scroll, "I think we have some time left on our hands. And remember what you said Sakura—you make that mistake again, and a riding crop in each of our hands will be the least of your worries."

"Well now, this is interesting," said Kakashi as he was walking in, "I've heard that Mikoto was about the only Uchiha that didn't take slaves…I guess being widowed for so long does things to you."

The three genin turned to face their sensei with glares in their eyes. Unfortunately, it was Sakura who was the first to speak…and her screech had hurt everyone's ears. "YOU'RE LATE!"

"I'm sorry; a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way around."

The dirty looks given by the Uchiha twins towards Sakura instantly told the pink-haired banshee that she was already on thin ice for screaming in their ears, and so she wisely stayed quiet. After putting their slave back in her place, the two of them faced each other with analytical looks on their faces. "What do you think? Is he lying, Satsuki?"

The girl that was mentioned simply grinned. "I may not have Naruto-kun's nose or ears, but even I can tell he's lying…that is, assuming that orange book that's sticking out of his bag is what I think it is."

The silver-haired jounin's eye widened upon hearing that…as if he felt an arrow piercing his heart. Once he heard that line, started to hide the incriminating evidence quickly. This action was not lost to both twins who simply grinned wider—the younger of the two wanted to press the attack. "Judging by his actions right now, I can guess what happened—he spent the last four or so hours wha…"

"Okay, that's enough," interrupted Kakashi, with his face redder than a tomato with his terse answer, "let's get down to business. I have two bells here…your mission is to take these bells from me by the time the timer runs out. The student that doesn't have a bell by the time the timer runs out not be eating lunch."

"But Kakashi-sensei…there's three of us, and only two bells. Care to explain that to us?

Kakashi's eye-smile had been found on his masked face. "Very good Sakura, as it just so happens, there are two bells because one of you is going to be sent back to the academy…my only advice to you here is this: come at me with the intent to kill!"

Once that sentence was finished, all three genin vanished. "Well, at least they conceal themselves well. Now who will be my first victim?"

As if on cue, Kakashi heard weapons being drawn…two short swords if the sound were any indication. Before long, he found himself dodging as he saw one of the Uchiha twins wielding a pair of gladii in a reverse grip dropping upon him with both blades ready to stab into his shoulders. It was then that he stepped away and watched as the Uchiha got back up from her landing, and change the grips on her blades, an evil grin on her face. He said to come at him with the intent to kill, he never thought that someone would take him literally—nor did he expect her to come armed, and as a swordswoman to boot. After a moment's analysis, Kakashi found that he could take this foolish girl…and so he reached into his pouch to bring out the book he was reading—a book titled 'Icha-Icha Paradise', much to the anger of the Uchiha girl.

The angry sneer on Tsukiko's face was clear as she started grinding her teeth together. "What the hell are you doing reading at a time like this?"

His response was simple: "Well if I don't read, then how am I going to get to the ending?"

"Your funeral!" that said, Tsukiko charged in with one short sword held in an under-handed grip beginning her assault with a horizontal slash that was barely dodged by Kakashi before he had to dodge a vertical slash. Her next move was to change reverse-gripped sword to a regular grip and began swinging her blades quickly…her goal was to destroy the offending book. Unfortunately for her, she found herself knocked by a bit when the sensei grabbed her by the face, and pushed quickly. Once she was a good distance away, Tsukiko held one sword in a reverse-grip and threw it like a small javelin at the perverted jounin—this time, she had a new target, as Kakashi stepped aside to grab the blade by the handle only to watch as the young genin took this opportunity to perform a roundhouse kick followed by a back kick aimed for his groin which he had managed to spin away from as he slid into a crouch with his hands in the 'Tora' position…nobody saw the evil and perverted smile under his mask as he waited. "So you're a dirty fighter eh?" he questioned, "Oh I think I know how I am going to train you; with your speed, I can obviously see the potential…but first, I'm going to punish you for your failed attempt at making low blows! Konoha Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!" It was then that he drove both of his index and middle fingers up and quickly—and at the very second the Uchiha-girl landed on both feet with her back to him. The result was that Tsukiko dropped her swords in surprise as she turned beet red from both anger embarrassment, before being launched away from her sensei screaming in pain—needless to say, she soon found herself at the bottom of a lake fuming at him as she managed to spike her chakra out. The bastard took her anal virginity, and now he was going to pay!

Using chakra to enhance her speed, Tsukiko leaped out of the water, landed on the sands of the lake, grabbed both of her gladii, and started making high-speed slashes at Kakashi…who had found himself putting his book away to dodge the rage-fueled girl that was not aiming simply to kill, but to castrate! Once he saw that Tsukiko had her blades set for a heavier killing blow, he allowed her to stab at him…and with a 'poof', he was replaced with a thick log, and one of her gladii stuck in the middle as it penetrated the log and was sticking out at the other end. The asshole just got away with stealing her virginity with a fucking Kawarimi! Oh this did not sit well with her, as she started letting out a string of curses under her breath before roaring them out in rage…one could swear that she looked like Shinigami himself when she was angry. It was a good thing that her mother was not around to hear the words uttered from her mouth. After freeing her sword and sheathing both, she then looked towards the branches…and at her sister's hiding place. Satsuki had heard that anger in her younger sister's voice that caused her to shout. "You caught all that?"

The older Uchiha twin knew the anger was not directed at her, and it just so happened that she too was angry at that sexually-harassing jounin! "Actually, I did—and I'm pretty sure Sakura-chan caught it too…am I right Sakura?"

A loud shriek pierced their ears as they heard the Haruno girl screamed in terror. The twins then looked to each other before they started running towards the source of the scream. Once they found themselves looking through a bush, they both slammed their palms into their foreheads—as they had found their slave with a look of utter terror on her face; and at the hands of a low-level genjutsu if the traces of chakra they sensed were any indication.

Tsukiko's dislike for that man was clear in her voice. "If that pervert keeps on doing that to all our slaves…"

As she finished her younger sister's sentence, Satsuki could only agree. "…then we'll be up to our armpits in replacement slaves who could be just as incompetent!"

"Oh well, if she continues to prove an incompetent slave, we could always sell her off. But all joking aside, what are we going to do Satsuki? We can't exactly let that asshole get away with taking my anal virginity!"

What the younger Uchiha twin had said was true about her first time; so far, the two of them only settled for kissing, caressing, and fondling in front of their slave to moisten her. Save for giving each other their first kisses, and fingering each other, there was no serious penetration front or back—they wanted to save themselves for Naruto-kun. "I know…it looks like we've got ourselves a difficult fight ahead of us—but our first priority would be to find the bastard. He's a jounin ninja, so teamwork is a must when going against him…I doubt our slave will be helpful here at this point, but we've got to try."

Tsukiko nodded at that statement—that son of a bitch was going to pay for this! "Agreed," she said, "but how are we going to get to him?"

With a sigh, Satsuki let her depression at the situation be known. "If only Naruto-kun were here, we'd be able to track him easily."

"Then it seems your prayers have been answered," said a voice from above, "because it seems we share a common goal."

The twins instantly knew whose voice that was, and they grinned as they looked up…

…

[Meanwhile, at Otogakure…]

This was not supposed to happen, but he guessed it would have been inevitable—the meeting that he had with Orochimaru moments ago had gone south. He'd tried to convince the foolish man to stop using the Curse Mark…tried to make him see reason. The deluded fool simply laughed in his face, and called him a fool in return while having the gall to try and recruit him. That greedy idiot! The nerve!

Needless to say, GSD was not happy that his words fell on deaf ears. With his refusal to join Orochimaru, the bastard sent the only other two people in the room. It wasn't much a challenge as he managed to cut down that four-eyed brat he had under his control and spilling his blood all over the room in the process, while the last Kaguya found himself pinned to the wall by his wrists and ankles. The foolish snake had both his arms cut off, both legs broken, and his legendary blade 'Kusanagi no Tsurugi' being held in his right arm…all the while, the older man had held the greedy monster by his throat to ensure that none of his snakes could leave through his mouth with his other hand holding an energy sword threatening his neck. The hatred laced his voice as he gritted his teeth at the foolish Sannin. "How does it feel Orochimaru, to finally be the one held at sword-point? I could drive the edge of my sword through the frontal bone of your skull and cauterize the frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes of your brain in one cut! I could summon the God of Violence himself to devour this wretched place, and all your souls with it to ensure that none of you could come back to life using any of the fouler jutsu you have in your repertoire! My wish to see balance in this word dictates that I should kill you here and now!

At this point he started to calm down as he let his victim go and deactivated his energy sword, but the venom in his voice was still there. "But I won't…it's not my place to kill you. For now, I will allow you to enjoy the dream that you are the one ultimately in control of your minions under the power of the Curse Mark. You'll see in due time who it is that will end you…and when you see who it is that will finally kill you, I will laugh on your grave at what your foolishness and greed has brought you!"

Once he holstered his energy sword, GSD turned towards the last Kaguya, and started collecting his weapons. The second he sheathed his last weapon, he turned to the boy that was glaring at him. "As for you young Kaguya, everything I have said so far was true—I know more about the Curse Mark than you think, and thus I know Orochimaru will not always be your master. You will meet your true master in due time—you and the other poor souls marked by that pathetic fool of a master of yours…and I guarantee that you will all know who he is the moment you see him."

That said and done, the old man used his senses to find the door to the room. Once he opened it, he found that there were many Oto ninja trembling in fear at the sight of him…making way for him like a king walking towards his throne. Nobody was foolish enough to mess with the man who could take down their master this easily!

…

[Training Ground 3, approximately two hours fifty minutes later…]

The infamous orange book was open in Kakashi's hands—in about ten minutes, those three lovely ladies would be tied to the three posts while he ate their lunches in front of them. Serves them right if they can't get the meaning behind the test; but then again, if this keeps up then he'd have all the time in the world to get started on Icha-Icha Violence! The perverted grin on his face made it easy to see that he enjoyed the prospect of finishing the book that Jiraya-sama wrote. And what was better, he could enjoy it hidden away in this very…

"Oi! Kakashi-hentai!"

The jounin looked up and saw that the Uchiha with short swords was charging him again. Seriously, didn't that girl learn anything about variety? Although he found that he had to admire her persistence—that girl didn't seem to know how or even when to quit! It was then that he put down his book in order to hold two kunai at the ready. Before long, he found himself dodging a horizontal swing directed at his torso—and then realizing his mistake as it forced him to jump forward and right into Tsukiko who started attacking him with high-speed slashes which he was barely able to keep up with! At the same time, he watched as the older Uchiha twin rushed him with her katana as he blocked the second strike. That proved to be a mistake as he watched that blade cut through his kunai like a hot knife through butter.

After he was forced to drop his kunai, Kakashi managed to get out of the stranglehold the twins put him under only to see something he never thought he'd see: the last Baihe was running after him with a golden aura surrounding her, then jumping into the air as she attempted a flying roundhouse kick. Once he managed to duck under her kick and back-flip away from several of her punches, he felt a massive amount of killing intent directed at him from behind…he turned around just in time to see that demon-bitch charging at him with a Kirigakure-standard zanbato ready for a downwards slash. It didn't take long for him to dodge the slash, but he found himself jumping away from arrows that were aimed at his calves…and judging by the size of those arrows, they had a sniper somewhere further away. When he tried to run a different direction, he then noted that all four combatants were then joined by the Haruno girl as she was throwing kunai and shuriken to aid in pinning him down.

It was then that he looked back at the four close-quarters combat fighters that he realized that he would have to get serious! With that thought on mind he unveiled his Sharingan eye, and then he charged!

…

_They fall in line_  
><em>One at a time<em>  
><em>Ready to play<em>  
><em>(I can't see them anyway)<em>  
><em>No time to lose<em>  
><em>We've got to move<em>  
><em>Steady your hand<em>  
><em>(I am losing sight again)<em>

_Fire your gun,_  
><em>It's time to run,<em>  
><em>Blow me away.<em>  
><em>(I will stay, in the mess I made)<em>  
><em>After the fall,<em>  
><em>We'll shake it off,<em>  
><em>Show me the way.<em>

_Only the strongest will survive,_  
><em>Leave me in heaven when we die,<em>  
><em>I am the shadow on the wall,<em>  
><em>I'll be the one to save us all<em>

…

What was thought to have been an easy victory turned out to be anything but; and this was shown throughout the battle as all four combatants attacked him in a synchronized fashion—as if all four of them were in the middle of a dance. And it would seem that the choreographer was the one dealing the heavier blows with the zanbato, while everyone else tried to push Kakashi in that direction. To make things worse, he was still pinned down in this area by Sakura and the unknown archer who had stopped firing arrows for some reason.

…

_There's nothing left,_  
><em>So save your breath,<em>  
><em>Lying in wait.<em>  
><em>(Caught inside this tidal wave)<em>  
><em>Your cover's blown,<em>  
><em>Nowhere to go,<em>  
><em>Holding your fate.<em>  
><em>(Loaded I will walk alone)<em>

…

"You're good Kakashi," said the demon-brat, in the lull of battle, "it looks like we're going to have to step it up a bit." It was then that it raised its red arm into the air with a grin on its face. "So-mei-na Kazan!"

…

_Fire your guns,_  
><em>It's time to run,<em>  
><em>Blow me away.<em>  
><em>(I will stay, in the mess I made)<em>  
><em>After the fall,<em>  
><em>We'll shake it off,<em>  
><em>Show me the way.<em>

…

It wasn't long until Kakashi saw something appear before his eyes—at first, it started off as an orange blob, and then its form became more defined! The form that appeared before him had the face of a fish with sharp teeth, with a sort of cap on top of its head. At its sides were spindly claw-tipped arms protected by a pair of pauldrons. The demon was grinning at him with an evil look, while all the people nearby seemed to gain a more bloodthirsty look on their faces. As a result, Kakashi found himself blocking stronger slashes, and dodging punches and kicks aimed at his head that were powered up by whatever that demon had conjured up!

…

_Only the strongest will survive,_  
><em>Leave me in heaven when we die,<em>  
><em>I am the shadow on the wall,<em>  
><em>I'll be the one to save us all.<em>

_Wanting it back_  
><em>(Don't make me mad! )<em>

…

It was a mistake to have let that evil slut get proper shinobi training after all! As he ducked under a ball of Raiton chakra fired by the last Baihe from behind, before he found himself flipping forward just in time to avoid getting bear-hugged by the girl. Once he found another lull in the battle, he noted that all four close-combat specialists had started slowing down for some reason—and then he noted that the summoned demon had just disappeared…this was his chance to counterattack! Before he could set his hands up to prepare for a jutsu, he found his knees being threatened by a pair of blades, another blade poking at his kidney from behind with a hand against his stomach prepared to push him into it, and a large cleaver-like sword on his shoulder with the blade facing his neck—and if that weren't enough, that ominous-sounding creaking he heard from behind him told him the very thing he didn't want to know.

"One wrong move and I turn you into a pincushion."

He was about to retort and fight his way out when he felt the blade of that massive cleaver press closer against the neck guards of his flak jacket, and the demon opening her mouth to speak. "Go ahead…make my day."

Kakashi knew that he was captured. This was exactly what he had wanted to see from the Uchiha twins…and to a lesser extent, Sakura. But to see this all being coordinated by the demon-brat of all people was an insult! He would not let that hussy get away with her murders! He absolutely refused to let that slut get away with not only impersonating sensei's son, but mocking him with his face!

…

_Only the strongest will survive,_  
><em>Leave me in heaven when we die,<em>  
><em>I am the shadow on the wall,<em>  
><em>I'll be the one to save us all...<em>

…

Before he could continue on with his vengeful thoughts, the bell had rung!

…

_Save us all!_

…

"Well, it seems we've overstayed our welcome," began the Kyuubi-brat, with a bit of a mocking tone in her voice, "let's do this again some other time Kakashi!" With that, the slut escaped with her teammates into the woods, leaving only the jounin and his three students behind. Oh he'll get that bitch for this! But for now, he had some students to punish…

"It seems that time's up," he said, watching the direction in which the demon and her team left as he covered his Sharingan eye, "and while I applaud the three of you making it this far against me, neither of you have gotten a…bell?"

As he turned to face his team, his eye had widened from seeing the triumphant looks on two of his students' faces. Each Uchiha twin had a bell while Sakura had a downtrodden look on her face…until the two of them gave her the bell—they passed! Somehow, during that little scuffle he had, one of them had picked off the bells. He really needed to read his book now. "I'm impressed that you managed to get a bell, but…"

To his horror, as Kakashi reached into his bag, he found that he was robbed of his infamous orange book…yet again! With a cry of anguish, he simply wilted at the idea…it looked like the bells weren't the only thing that was stolen from him. He was so depressed that he did not notice the Uchiha twins feeding their slave the bento he bought. He didn't care—the day had just gone from bad to worse!

…

[Meanwhile, Higurashi Arsenal's Workshop…]

Hiko had been observing everything from her perch in the workshop. She'd been stealing glances at the Uchiha matriarch and her master for the past few hours or so, and listening in. Granted, she knew about his relationship with Uchiha Mikoto (having met her and all), and how it ended, but it didn't take a phoenix like her to know that there was still something between them. She'd also been paying attention to the looks of longing on the Uchiha woman's face while her big brute was sharpening that sword of hers.

"Looks like we're almost done," said Hiten, grinding the naked blade of Shin Ikazuchi against the whetstone, "so tell me Mikoto, how's life so far with a slave?"

The blush on Mikoto's face had amused the smith to no end. And yet somehow, he could tell that she had fun in one way or another. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Hiten paused to inspect the blade to ensure it had a razor-sharp edge like any katana should. "Mikoto, I know you…I can tell when you're lying. Besides, I heard it on the grapevine that you and your daughters got yourselves a slave. You know I won't tell a soul…who is the slave by the way?"

With a heavy sigh, Mikoto knew that she could never hide anything from Hiten—the man was not all brawn if his priestly education were anything to go by. "It's Haruno Sakura."

Upon hearing that name, Hiten flinched before he moved the blade away from the whetstone and looked to his ex-girlfriend with surprise in his eyes. "Haruno Sakuya's daughter? You enslaved her daughter?"

"No, the twins did—and only because Inoichi-san was out on a mission. Besides, you and I both know I don't take slaves."

"Oh yeah…but still, I'm pretty sure you still had fun."

Mikoto so wanted to make Hiten pay for making that blush return to her face with a vengeance…it wasn't what he said that embarrassed her—it was the truth in it. She did in fact have fun helping her daughters get their first slave; a fact that she was too embarrassed to admit. "I hate to admit it Hiten, but you're right. I felt like my younger days have returned to me that night…"

As Hiten spoke, he focused his attention back to the whetstone, and sharpening the blade on it. "What was your title among the Uchiha clan? The one that made them call you up whenever a stubborn subject needed to be broken in the T&I Department?"

Her feeling of embarrassment was slathered with a tincture of pride. "They called me the 'Dominatrix Queen'. In any case, I liked the look of hope on her face when she saw me come—she was about to be flipped over so that they could use the special candles on her when I got there. I said to the twins, 'Girls, you shouldn't be doing that!' Now of course the twins were about to argue, until they saw me working my charms on the Haruno brat. When I was done and assured that their slave was broken, I turned to both of them saying 'Now that's how you it!'

"After that incident, I was asked to pass on my seduction arts to them in addition to what I am teaching them in kenjutsu. I simply told them that what I knew was based on experience and experimentation—and so they left it at that. I'm guessing that they took that message to heart, because they are currently using the Haruno girl as practice for seducing Naruto-kun."

After he inspected the blade one last time, and found himself satisfied with how sharp it was, he started reassembling the blade by placing handle on, then the fittings, and then the hand guards before finally putting the sword back in its sheath. "Well, at least that girl is getting that lesson in humility that's been coming. Okay then, let's go outside…I've some practice targets for you to cut."

As the two of them walked outside with Hiko on Hiten's shoulder, they saw a bamboo training dummy set up, in addition to tatami wrappings used to test swords. Mikoto walked up to the dummy, and drew her sword and slashed upwards before bringing it back downward, and sheathing the sword again…it wasn't until a 'click' was heard that the dummy fell apart into six pieces, leaving the core on the base standing. Yep, it was just as fast as she remembered; once she was satisfied with the draw speed, she then walked towards the twelve wrapped tatami rolls on cinder blocks, drew her sword, and then cut downwards…all twelve rolls were cut in half! As she sheathed the blade of Shin Ikazushi, Mikoto knew that this was the kind of quality she wanted! "How much do I owe you?"

"5 ryo per sharpening."

She smiled as she faced Hiten. "Hmm, seems fair enough—although given that this is your work, I think a little bonus is in order…"

Upon hearing that, Hiten raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what she meant when Mikoto slung her sword around her shoulder before jumping up, grabbing him by the neck, and planting a very much passionate kiss on his mouth. Fortunately for her, he was quick to grab her around the waist before she fell down by reflex…but the man's eyes had widened…and then his mind began to have jumbled thoughts the second she broke the kiss. Once his thoughts became a little more coherent as to what just happened, he lowered his ex-girlfriend and looked at her in confusion; she simply turned beet red upon seeing all 244 centimeters and 140 kilograms of him facing her. "I-I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…I was…"

With one massive finger, he managed to hush her. "Don't. I understand…I was just…do you still have feelings for me?"

That one moment where she blushed and avoided eye contact with him told him all that he needed to know. That response then prompted the million-ryo question that the both of them had on their minds. "What are we going to do?"

At this, Mikoto was holding back tears…for her confusion, and at the fact that she was still in love with this man. "I don't know…I don't know what we're going to do…I don't even know what I'm doing or thinking for that matter; I have two daughters to take care of and you have yours, we're both in our forties…I just…"

She was interrupted when Hiten knelt down and started pulling her closer and hugging her lovingly as he felt her petite form squeezing against his upper pectoral muscles. From there, she let it all out as she returned the hug around his neck while Hiko moved her perch to her boss's head. "There, there, it's okay. I just didn't expect this. To be honest, I'm in the same position—I…look, let's keep seeing each other, and see what happens. If the both of us can admit openly that this is true love returning for us, then we'll work from there."

"Why does love have to be so hard?" the Uchiha matriarch whined.

Hiten had a lopsided grin as he stated, "I'll give you the answer when I find it."

After a moment, Mikoto had started to calm down. Her voice of sadness and confusion had turned into playfulness. "We're going to have to keep this a secret from the girls won't we?"

A small chuckle had come from Hiten as he hugged her tighter. "Until we're ready to come clean with them about it."

As she watched this touching scene before her from her position on Hiten's head, Hiko could only think to herself that the world needed more of what she was seeing now. And now that this was happening, she made a vow not to tell anyone except her partner in crime of what she saw—not to Mikoto, and especially not to Hiten…

…

[Training Ground 18, two hours later…]

She was eating away at an onigiri when they arrived. Yuugao had savored the salty, chicken-filled goodness of her second helping—and this was to be expected as while the Ichiraku family specialized in ramen, they were also excellent makers of onigiri. She looked to her three students that had arrived with triumphant looks on their faces as she sat next to a barbecue grill. "I trust that you've got it?"

Kikyo grinned, as she produced the book she wanted them to steal. "Everyone did well, but Naruto and I had come up with the plan…I'd say that we're the only ones who did any serious work!"

The look on Meilan's face made it clear that she was offended by the comment. "Hey! I helped too Ms. Savage!"

"Oh you helped…as one of the distractions!"

"Well you could've…"

Having enough of what he was hearing, Naruto subtly moved between the girls and pushed them away before things got too violent. "That's enough! Kikyo, I appreciate that you aided me in formulating the plan and that you contributed to pinning down the idiot, and for that I will applaud you for your tactical insight (especially with making Sakura pick his pockets), your mastery in tracking, and your skill at mid- to long-range combat…"

Upon hearing this, Kikyo made every attempt to not blush. "Meilan, while you were not part of the planning process, I did in fact think you were fighting at your best while I was aiding in distracting the moron with the Uchiha twins (to whom I also give credit for). As a side note, I think you're getting better with the aim for your Nen Shot—a lot better. Now let it go, you both rule in this team!"

Once he was satisfied that the two girls had calmed down, he let them both go only to hear clapping from the direction of their sensei. "Bravo…you have the makings of a good leader Naruto. But all that aside, hand it to me."

Kikyo handed Yuugao the copy of "Icha-Icha Paradise", and watched as the jounin threw the book into the fire before covering it with charcoal and a grate. If one were quiet enough, they'd hear the sound of a thousand perverts in the book screaming in pain. "Since you kids did so well, especially with aiding Kakashi's team against him, I think you deserve a treat…" as she said this, she reached into a box, and pulled out a plastic bag filled with pieces of chicken on skewers, and placing the pieces on the grate.

After waiting a moment, and placing the skewered chicken on a plate, she looked to her students with a proud grin on her face. Kikyo picked up one stick for herself, and a second stick she gave to Naruto—only to see Meilan doing the exact same thing. The lightning bolt between their eyes had made their direct rivalry clear, and would have escalated into outright violence had Yuugao not moved in with her yakitori. "I want the three of you to savor this—to remember the flavor of victory…"

That said, Naruto took both yakitori sticks from their hands, and raised the one in his right hand up in a cheering gesture. "To victory." At that, Kikyo and Meilan could only follow…with Yuugao taking part. But before anyone could get to their treats, Naruto had one question on his mind: "Sensei, I hate to ask now, but what are you going to do with the other copies of the book?"

Yuugao only chuckled. "Oh don't worry that, a friend of mine has already taken care of it…"

…

[T&I Department Offices…]

Anko sneezed…damn, somebody must have been talking about her. Must've been a certain delicious little fox she'd been setting her sights on…nah, he doesn't even know her name yet! But all in all, she felt pride in that sneeze for some reason—and she had good reason! She had done all women in Konoha a favor when she had blackmailed all the bookstore owners in Konoha to never sell a single "Icha-Icha" book to Kakashi; and if they even told him why, they would have had…certain pictures exposed…

Yep, today was a good day for all women in Konoha!

…

**_A/N: Oh dear, who is praying for Hiten and Mikoto to get together? All in all, I hope this chapter has not suffered in quality after I made it longer…_**

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Kazan—Soul Bender_**

**_Nen Shot—Nen Master_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Comedy" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord 2": Hiten's morning_**

"**_Lakeside" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord 2": Hiten meeting Mikoto_**

"**_Sneak Chamber" by Forces of Nature from "Samurai Champloo": Tsukiko vs Kakashi, round 1_**

"**_Rebellion" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue": Tsukiko vs Kakashi, round 2_**

"**_Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin from "Halo 2": Team Yuugao and Team Kakashi vs. Kakashi_**

"**_Stardust Memory" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord": Hiten and Mikoto_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Hiko—the phoenix's name, her name means 'Child of Fire'_**

**_Shin Ikazuchi—Mikoto's sword, it means 'Thunder God'_**

**_Bodhisattva—Buddhist saints that forego Nirvana to help save people from going to hell_**

**_Oi—the Japanese equivalent of 'hey!', usually a rude form of getting someone's attention_**

**_-hentai—this simply means 'pervert'._**


	15. Encore

**_A/N: I am currently contemplating whether or not I should prepare to resubmit an edited version of this story in the future...or if I should allow someone to adopt it to do so. But in any case, I hope to continue writing this story without needing to change anything (I've come too far to make any changes now). Do read and review, would you kindly?_**

…

[Ichiraku Ramen Stand, three weeks later…]

The taste of the miso soup mixed in with the noodles had been the cornerstone of the night. On that, Meilan could agree with her lover, especially since the three of them had to capture that adorable little cat multiple times in the same day. Aside from the Akimichi-owned restaurants, the Ichiraku family was so far one of the few places to not discriminate against Naruto, who was currently gorging himself on his fifth bowl, no doubt because Kurama was hungry too and had a craving for ramen. "Now this is the food of the gods!" said Naruto, having slurped down all the miso soup, "I'll tell you Ayame, while I like the variety and quality of the Akimichi restaurants, they have not won my heart like your ramen does."

"Well Naruto-kun, I highly doubt it's a surprise," said the ramen chef's daughter, "My dad told me that whatever you want to do, you have to put your whole heart into it. I put my heart into all my cooking."

Oh, she did not like the close proximity that Ayame was to her lover. As a matter of fact, Meilan could not help but wonder as to the intentions of this sister-like figure to Naruto. It's almost as if she wanted to cross the line from sister to lover in a short amount of time, and that she wanted to mix her scent in with the ramen to try and seduce him in order to do it. "He speaks the truth," she said, interrupting the interaction, "My mother, when she was still alive, taught me that too."

"I suppose it's a universal thing," replied Ayame, looking at the young Baihe with a searching look in her eyes, "Perhaps it's something that all parents know and is a lesson destined to be taught to children of all ages."

"On that I can agree," said Naruto, a slightly solemn tone added to his voice, "Assuming of course, I knew how my parents were like."

The two girls looked towards the only boy between them with realization on their faces…how could they have forgotten? Naruto was an orphan…of course he wouldn't know, but before they could comfort him, they noted that he perked up a good deal afterwards. "Then again, I suppose GSD-sensei was kinda like a father to me…and Sarutobi-jiji was like a grandfather. I just wonder what it would be like if my real parents were around for me…"

Before Ayame could say anything about the matter, they noted someone running up to the stand, and panting as he did…it wasn't long until the round form of Akimichi Choji had arrived on the scene. His huffing and puffing had become even heavier the second he arrived. "Naruto! Something bad has just happened!"

Naruto turned to face the Akimichi member with a concerned look crossing his features. "What seems to be the problem?"

In his panic, Choji had to catch his breath as he spoke. "Tonight's Music Night at the bar, and the band that was supposed to show up tonight; their singer, guitarist, and bassist all fell ill on the way over, and the drummer broke her hand in an accident. I need a band fast! Hana was in the bar, she said you and Meilan can play our instruments, so I came to you to ask for help! Please, I'm begging you!"

"Well, it looks like we're going to be playing at Choji's place after all," said Naruto, a bit glibly, "But are you ready Meilan? This is in fact last-minute."

The girl looked to Naruto as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course I'm ready. The Baihe family had taught music as a basis for our fighting style. This would be no different. I just hope you're ready Naruto-kun; you haven't touched a guitar since the Uchiha mansion."

At that, Naruto simply grinned. "I'm very sure we'll do well, assuming that I don't have any haters in the crowd. But it's likely they'll be too busy focusing on you to care." He then turned to Choji with a confident look on his features. "We'll do it."

The Akimichi heir was happy. As he jumped for joy, now knew that they could salvage what was left of the night before any customers were lost! "Thanks! I appreciate it! You don't have to worry about a drummer. I've been practicing on them for a while now."

"I'll come too," said Ayame, looking in with curiosity in her eyes, "I'm off for tonight in a few seconds, so I may as well hear how well you play. But can I bring a friend along?"

"Sure, but you're going to have to be fast about it," said Naruto, "This is an emergency after all."

As soon as Naruto and Meilan ran off with Choji towards the bar, a light and giddy squeal had come from Ayame as she ran back into the stand to tell her father where she was going. She had preparations to make and a certain friend in the stall across from her to tell!

…

[Meanwhile, somewhere near the shores of Yu no Kuni…]

Tonight was a very lovely night—the relaxing sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks, the cool breeze blowing past the trees, yes…tonight was a lovely night indeed! GSD sat where he was in order to wait for his contact to arrive…as he waited, he looked back on the past. So many things had changed since he had attained enlightenment and earned his title as a sage—thus granting him eternal life.

It was then that his thoughts went back to the past—to the days when this world was once known as Arad. So many changes had taken place…the Bantu Tribe eventually intermarried with outsiders, and split into two factions that would found Tetsu no Kuni and Yukigakure. Another big change was that Grandis and her church had long disappeared from the face of the world, but their teachings still remain. Before he could think any more on the changes that had happened in the past, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a weight land on the branch above him.

"On time as usual," said the voice from above him, "You never seem to disappoint."

His contact had arrived. "I usually make it a point to show up at meeting places on time…unlike a certain ninja I've heard of. So how have things been going, Minet?"

Upon finishing his sentence, the woman dropped from the branch, and landed on her feet and in front of GSD. She had reddish-bronze skin and white hair; her eyes were a glowing cyan color, and she was wearing black and revealing clothing while carrying what appeared to be a sword in a red sheath. Aside from her generous assets and a figure that most women would kill for, the most distinguishing fact about this woman however was that she had pointed ears. The elves of Arad...it had definitely been a while since he thought about them. Gradually, as time had passed, the elves had gotten themselves united under one banner, and it was in the island nation of New Lorien, unknown to all but a few outsiders, and the neighboring Nadeshiko no Sato.

Since its formation, Sharan had been crowned as queen of the kingdom—as far as he heard, she'd been struggling to keep both her people and what was left the high elves together in the same nation…with a good amount of success; that seemed to be a good improvement, as Sharan's specialty was in the art of magic. Kargon was knighted as Master of the Forge—the boy had a very friendly rivalry with the smith known as Masamune…rumor had it that he even learned a trick or two from the swordsmith in the art of making swords of high quality. Siusha had opened her own bar in the island, and from the canteens that Minet kept on bringing with her, the woman had clearly not lost her touch—even with new ingredients…it was a shame that Grubeck had died off along with many of the other goblins, as he was her most frequent customer; but on the other hand, she had plenty of customers with very interesting stories to tell. And finally, Minet herself was knighted as Chief of the Royal Guard…teaching all prospective guards of the kingdom in the art of guerilla warfare and in her art of necromancy.

"Everything's going well so far," answered Minet with a sigh, "not bad considering how relatively short Sharan's rule is as of now. She's actually considering to put a team or two into these 'exams' she's heard about…sounds interesting come to think about it—maybe it'll help rid me of my boredom." At this, she continued to look at GSD…with a frown creeping upon her delicate features. "I just spoke with Pungjin about a month ago…he heard about what happened to his family."

The old sage let out a grunt and a nod of acknowledgement. "I know of what happened. I was there—I didn't see anything, but I heard everything…as of this moment, the last of his bloodline still flows through the last member of his family." At this point, he let out a small chuckle, and grinned just a little bit. "And it just so happens that said 'last member' is smitten with my apprentice…I suppose Pungjin will be happy for her, as well as knowing that she's in good hands; but all that aside, you're probably here to check up on the prophecy."

"You would be correct old man. How goes the little brat's training anyway?"

"I can tell he looks forward to seeing you again. You have been like a big-sister figure to him the day the two of you met. All in all, he's progressing well. I never expected him to be getting strong this fast, but I suppose that it was his genetics that determined this. I only envy him in that he is likely to gain eternal youth out of this deal, assuming of course his progression goes as it should and he attains enlightenment at a younger age than I."

"I don't blame you for being jealous—if his father was anything to go by, he'd probably be an even bigger lady-killer. Unfortunately for me, his heart belonged only to Kushina. Not that I hate her for it, I'm just jealous that she got that lucky is all. Tell me, is he getting a harem without knowing it as well?"

Upon hearing that, GSD let out a loud laugh. "Trust me Minet, he already has the makings of one taking root. But back to business—what's this I hear about sending some prospective members of the Royal Guard to the Chuunin Exams?"

A light sigh had left her lips when she heard that. Minet had this wish to go home now and take a long nap. "Yes, about that— her majesty felt that it was about time to reveal ourselves to the world of today. She feels we've been isolated long enough. I don't blame her, we need to make exports and import from the world at large if we are to survive economically. Nadeshiko no Sato is a good neighbor, and is a good trading partner, but we still need to open our ports up wider. I advised the queen to open the ports slowly but surely. She felt it was a good idea, so she sent a request to send members of the Royal Guard out to these exams, to re-introduce our kingdom to the world through that."

"You are very wise," said GSD, nodding his head, "You should probably be one of her majesty's advisors."

"Ha! I would be killed in the world of politics…but once in a while, I see something that needs my attention, and I give my opinion. That's about it. It was good seeing you again GSD…tell Naruto that his big-sis said 'hi.'"

GSD nodded in acknowledgement as Minet had left through the branches of the trees. As he got up to leave as well, he smiled to himself at the likely predicament that Naruto was going to find himself in when it concerned women. He only hoped that the poor boy would stay away from girls like that one in Tetsu no Kuni with the robots…that girl sure was violent!

…

[Chouza's Bar and Grill, Kitchen…twenty minutes later…]

The bar was getting anxious—they were promised music with their dinner! Tonight was Music Night in the bar, and there was not even a little melody being played with the sake! Chouza could tell that they were so close to rioting now, and no amount of sake or food was going to appease the crowd now! As he was frantically racing to try and calm down the customers, he heard the door open. "Dad, I've got them!"

With a look of joy, Chouza turned to see his son return with Naruto and his girlfriend Meilan in tow. He seemed to be praying to whatever deity was listening. "Thank Kami! We finally have musicians! My prayers have finally been answered!"

"We've got to hurry," said Meilan, gripping Naruto's hand tighter as she surveyed the tense atmosphere of the establishment, "We've got to play something before the patrons tear this place apart!"

Naruto started grating his teeth as he spoke. "Meilan, I'm not disagreeing with you or anything, but you're kind of breaking my fingers right now!"

Upon hearing that, Meilan looked down at her hand and turned red with a sheepish look on her face as she noticed that she was indeed gripping Naruto's hand a little too tightly. "Sorry!" she said quickly, loosening her grip.

The second relief had crossed his features, Naruto let out a sigh. "That's okay, but all that aside, I have a song in mind; Choji, how well can you play…"

…

[Chouza's Bar and Grill, somewhere in the crowd…]

This was the spot that they were supposed to come to…Ayame wore casual wear consisting of beige slacks, a gunmetal vest, and a form-fitting black t-shirt and her long hair done up in a ponytail. She had brought her friend from the stand across from hers and was currently being guided to her table. The pink hair was clear indication that Sayuri was a member of the Haruno family—it's like their trademark in addition to the physical beauty of their women. With her, the saying 'looks can be deceiving' applied; dainty-looking and civilian she may be, but defenseless she was not—because she just so happened to be a member of the civilian militia and served directly under Higurashi Hiten who was like a second father to her. The only distinguishing feature that separated her from the other Haruno women was that she had a lovely singing voice—even if she was making small talk or even scolding you, you could sit around all day listening to that voice of hers. "Still worried about your cousin?" asked Ayame, knowing that Sayuri cared about her family despite being ostracized and labeled the black sheep.

"You know it," she answered, the concern on her face, "I know Sakura and I haven't gotten along well in recent years, but I still care. I see that there is hope for her one day…I don't want anything bad to happen to her."

At that, Ayame could only nod her head in agreement. Sayuri was a good person inside and out—she even remembered seeing her being nice to Naruto once or twice. She made a point not to tell her that Sakura had been turned into a slave to the Uchiha twins; she didn't know how she was going to handle it. "I suppose you're right. But still, she really needs a wake-up call. If she's going to act like a spoiled brat, then she's likely to get herself killed in five seconds flat. Although from what I've seen, she's getting a little better."

"Yeah, I've heard about that…"

Before the two of them could continue their conversation, they heard the sound of tapping on a microphone, and standing on the stage was Meilan who was clearing her throat and testing her voice, and Choji who was getting onto his drum set. But the part about this that had people booing was the fact that four copies of Naruto were walking onto the stage, and tuning all the plucked string instruments—one was working on the acoustic guitar, another on the bass, the third on the electric guitar, and the last one was putting on the picks for the koto on his fingers. Cries of 'demon slut', 'bitch', and 'whore of the devil' were heard among the crowd until they saw the demon-armed boys pause, and then they felt like something was grabbing them by the throat and slowly starting to squeeze as they turned to glare (if it were possible for blind people to glare) at the audience with angry sneers. They instantly got the message and shut up. Once the audience was silence, Meilan turned to face Naruto with a grateful look in her eyes and then turned her attention back to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said in the microphone, "I must apologize, but the band that was to be here tonight can't make it due to unforeseen circumstances. And so for tonight, we make our debut as serious musicians!"

Once she said that, Meilan turned to her impromptu band and with a '1, 2, 3, and go!' the Naruto copy at the koto started playing, and Choji followed in synch…before the Naruto with the bass guitar started with the riff and Meilan started singing…

…

_Chiriyuku hanabira ga machi wo irodoru kedo  
>Saigo no toki na noto kaze ga oshiete kureta<br>Kisetsu wa mawaru kara shinpai wa ira nai to  
>Ano toki yokogitta tsuki ga terashite kureta<em>

_Itsumo onaji namida bakari nagashi tsudukeru_  
><em>Nakusa nakereba kiduka nai kara<em>

_Tada hitotsu negai ga kanau no nara_  
><em>Kinou no jibun ni "Sayounara"<em>  
><em>Kawara nai omoi ga aru no naraba<em>  
><em>Itsuka sakura no shita de<em>

_Ano hi no yakusoku ga iroase nai you ni_  
><em>Yubi de nazotte miru asa no mabayui hikari<em>  
><em>Hitotsu toshite onaji toki wa otozure nai kara<em>  
><em>Mou mayowazu ni saki he susumu no<em>

_Taisetsu na inori ga todoku you ni_  
><em>Kyou mo utai tsudukete yuku<em>  
><em>Sagashiteta kotae wa kitto aru to<em>  
><em>Sotto oshiete kureru<em>

_Tada hitotsu negai ga kanau no nara_  
><em>Toki wo koete todoketai<em>  
><em>Kawara nai omoi ga aru no naraba<em>  
><em>Itsuka sakura no shita de<em>

_Taisetsu na inori ga todoku you ni_  
><em>Kyou mo utai tsudukete yuku<em>  
><em>Sagashiteta kotae wa kono ni aru to<em>  
><em>Sotto oshiete kureru<em>

_Kanashimi wo Resetto shite_

…

When the song finished with the acoustic guitar solo, Meilan looked out at the crowd to see that many of them had their mouths hanging. This had to be the quietest they'd ever heard of the crowd. Perhaps their skills at music had dulled. One of the Naruto clones was about to walk up and comfort his lover when he heard clapping. At first, it started off with just one person giving applause, then it gradually grew to infect the entire crowd with glee as they clapped. He knew then and there that they would never clap for him as he heard the words 'Meilan' from their mouths, but that was okay so long as they didn't insult her again. Besides, the crowd was calling for an

…

**_A/N: A bit short, but I decided to compensate with a promise that an arc is coming up next…_**

…

**_Confirmed in harem so far:_**

**_Hinata_**

**_Tenten_**

**_Anko_**

**_Meilan_**

**_Kikyo_**

**_Mei_**

**_Ayame_**

**_Temari_**

**_Fem Haku (she'll be considered a Glacial Master-type Mage)_**

**_Fem Mechanic_**

**_Fem Priest (not sure which subclass yet)_**

**_Fem Thief (unlike the Uchiha twins who will be Slayer/Thief hybrids, this will be all-thief…unless you want Minet added, as I plan to have a dark elf in the harem)_**

**_Fem Kurama (she will be all the Slayer classes, but mainly a Berserker)_**

**_Hanabi_**

**_Koyuki_**

**_Shizune_**

**_Hana_**

**_Satsuki_**

**_Tsukiko_**

**_Fu_**

…

**_Unconfirmed in harem so far:_**

**_Ino_**

**_Sakura (if she does get in, then I plan to convert her gradually) or Sayuri_**

**_Isaribi_**

**_Shion_**

**_Konan_**

**_Kurotsuchi_**

**_Karui_**

**_Samui_**

**_Fem Gaara (not sure if I should do this…)_**

**_Yugito_**

**_Fem Samurai_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques:_**

**_Murderous Wave—Asura_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Dispossession-Strings Version" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier"—GSD speaks with Minet_**

"**_Reset" by Ayaka Hirahara from "Okami"—playing at Choza's Bar and Grill_**


	16. Making Waves

**_A/N: And now we begin with the Nami no Kuni arc…and introducing the Glacial Master that is known as Haku. Speaking of whom, I've started playing as the Male Mage, and have discovered that he plays a little more like a gunner. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Somewhere in Konoha, the next day…]

A dark brown cat was licking the back of its paw before it started stretching itself. Once satisfied with its little bit of exercise, it curled up to sleep. It was completely unaware of the fact that it was being watched by three pairs of eyes in three directions…or was it?

"Nightshade reporting in," whispered one voice, "the target is within range of my chakra radar, and I have its signature locked on. Lotus, what's your status?"

"We are green Nightshade," said the feminine voice of Lotus on the neck communicator, "I have the target in my line of sight in case plan A goes to hell. How are things on your end Hydrangea?"

"Target is also in my line of sight. I've the right tool prepared for just this job."

"Hydrangea, you are clear to shoot—I think the target has caught on to us."

With a loud and resounding 'twang', an arrow was loosed, and it exploded in midair to become a net…that the brown cat promptly avoided. "Kuso!" cursed Nightshade to himself, before reaching his hand to the PTT button on his neck communicator, "Lotus, target is heading in your direction! I repeat, target is heading in your direction! You have the packet ready?"

"Yep, I've got it."

"Good, you wait there and try to stall the target. Hydrangea, you're with me; we need to be there in case the target is feeling particularly sadistic."

The voice of Hydrangea came back up on the communicators. "On my way Naruto…I'm actually surprised I haven't shot the little bitch dead already, what with all the trouble she's been causing!"

"I wouldn't blame her Kikyo," responded Nightshade, "with the way she's been treated and by her own mistress, I'd run away too."

Once the two of them arrived at the scene, Hydrangea come up to a scene that made her blood boil—that little bitch was purring and snuggling up to her colleague while Meilan was holding her like a baby. "Meilan, can you confirm?" asked Naruto, a bit irritated that this happened again, but also glad it was over—mainly because he liked that cat too.

With a nod, Meilan gently turned the cat around and inspected the target. "Let's see now; dark brown fur, beige stripes, red ribbon on the ear…yep, that's Tora alright."

With a grin, Naruto took the opportunity to pet the cat. He rather liked to feel her purring when he did. "Okay then, let's get to Yūgao-sensei."

…

[Hokage's Office, twenty minutes later…]

"TORA-CHAN!" a portly woman cried out, running up to the cat that was struggling to escape, "There you are Tora-chan!"

Even though Naruto could not see, he could feel the pain emanating from the cat as she was practically strangled to death by her loving owner; much to the pleasure of Kikyo of course as this was her revenge! With a sigh, the only boy of Team Eleven moved up closer to the Fire Daimyo's wife, and gently tapped for her attention. "Excuse me ma'am," he said politely, "but you're hugging her too hard."

Once Madam Shijimi had managed to get Tora purring to sleep in her arms on her own, she flashed a smile at the little blond angel that helped her. "Thank-you kindly sir, I'll be on my way." Nothing else mattered as she left the Hokage's office, much to the astonishment of the other adults in the room and Kikyo; the Fire Daimyo's wife was just happy that her cat was happy.

Once he felt that the Fire Daimyo's wife was gone, Naruto then turned to Hiruzen with a slight frown on his face. It took all the willpower he had to not whine. "Don't you have any tougher missions, old man?"

"Naruto!" snapped Iruka at the audacity of his former student, "Be respectful! And besides, you have to take care of missions according to your level. For a genin such as yourself, D-Rank missions are appropriate! Now…"

"It is duly noted Iruka," interrupted the old Hokage, "but I think it's up to Yūgao-chan if her team is ready for something more difficult." At that, he then turned to face the Jōnin of Team Eleven. "Well? Are they ready?"

A grin had started to form on the Jōnin's face. "I think my team is ready for a harder mission."

Hiruzen looked at Team Eleven in appraisal; he could see the bond that had formed between all four of them as Naruto walked back to his team. The missions only seemed to have strengthened the bond between him and the last of the Baihe family, if the look of pure love she was giving to his surrogate grandson were any indication. He could not be certain as to why Danzo placed his granddaughter in this team, as Kikyo was known to be a loner; however, he could see the jealousy in her eyes despite the poker face she held. Yep, there was a bond there too, and it was more than obvious. He was about to speak when a pigeon landed on his desk with a message wrapped around his leg.

After taking the message from the pigeon, he started to read its contents—what he had picked up from that tiny little scroll made him sigh in disappointment. It was understandable, given the state of Nami no Kuni according to Tazuna. "It seems you're in luck," he began, "Team Seven is requesting some backup. Apparently, the client lied to them about the difficulty of the mission and now they are asking for a team to come and assist if only for safety's sake."

Now this had perked Naruto up a bit. "Finally, we've got a challenge! Now I can probably break a sweat on this one."

"Don't be so cocksure Naruto," interrupted Hiruzen, "I know from GSD that you've handled bandits before and so can Meilan, but ninja are a whole different league from your average run-of-the-mill brigand—for them, it's not so much about quantity as it is quality. Keep this in mind when you leave. Yūgao?"

The jōnin turned to her leader and bowed. "Hai Hokage-sama."

"You will meet your team at the gates of Konoha in an hour. I want to have a personal word with you."

With a nod, Yūgao turned to her students. "Meilan, you take Naruto with you to get prepared. Kikyo, I will see you there too." All three students then left the room quickly but quietly. Once she was assured that all three of them were out of earshot (especially to Naruto's ultra-sensitive ears), she turned her attention back to Hiruzen. "What is it Hokage-sama?"

"This is regarding Kakashi. I'm sure you're aware of his stance towards Naruto?"

This was odd, what was her Hokage getting at? Yūgao could only let out a sigh of frustration for her fellow jōnin. "I apologize in advance and with all due respect Hokage-sama, but what ninja hasn't heard of his resentment towards Naruto? I've even heard of his indirect participation in the 'fox-hunts' that the village hosts. The fool blames him for the death of his sensei and his family; thinking that he is the Kyūbi impersonating his sensei's son and deceiving everyone. I sincerely question his sanity, and am looking forward to one day punishing him for all the things that he's done to the boy."

Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you see things my way. Like you, I don't trust Kakashi around Naruto, and so I have a secret mission for you: as long as this mission is active, you are to keep an eye on Kakashi—if he tries to kill Naruto in any way, then you are given permission to kill him once the mission is over (assuming of course the boy has not killed him in self-defense first)."

She looked to her Hokage with surprise in her eyes. Assassinate Kakashi? Hell yeah! This was a job she'd take from her leader for free! But then again, another question cropped up in her mind. "Won't the council be angry at you for ordering the assassination of the only possible teacher the twins will have?"

The elderly Hokage grunted and gave a devious grin to the jōnin that almost scared her. "Oh don't worry your pretty head over it; I have an argument in mind that will reinstate Uchiha Mikoto as a shinobi to serve as the sensei of Team Seven should it come to the point where you have to assassinate that wretch."

…

[The Gates of Konoha, an hour later…]

The mission was a success! Tenten was tired, but she was satisfied with the result! While it was indeed a B-rank mission, it gave her and her team every opportunity to get stronger! Apparently, a large army of bandits had attacked a nearby town, sacking and robbing the place like all bandits did, and so they were sent to deal with them. It also filled her with a bit of fear, as she could see the hungry looks in the eyes of the bandits as she fought them off—she saw them all eyeing her like a piece of meat. It made her shudder, despite knowing that rape was common especially among bandits. But seeing how they were killed before they could get to her, she started feeling better—because she promised herself that nobody would touch her in the manner that these monsters were thinking of except for the one she loved.

"I failed to defeat the most bandits, such an act of un-youthfulness!" shouted Lee, in disappointment, "In punishment, I shall run a thousand laps around the village on my hands!"

Neji on the other hand had a smug look on his face as he grunted in triumph. She didn't know what a lot of girls saw in him at the time now that she thought about it. Sure, Tenten was among those superficial fan-girls that wanted the Hyūga prodigy to acknowledge them and maybe go out on a date with them—but that was before she was teamed up with him and learned what kind of person he really was; before she met Naruto again and fell in love with him. Sure, she had some competition, but that was the thing with Tenten: she liked challenges! Did she have to fight for his heart? If it meant going for true love, then hell yeah!

"Hey there Tenten!" called out a voice from the gate, startling the Higurashi girl out of her musings. She then focused her attention towards the direction in which she heard the call, and found that it was Meilan greeting her in a friendly manner. She was accompanied by a dark-skinned girl whom she assumed was her third team member and holding hands with Naruto, much to their apparent and mutual envy.

Not wanting to offend Naruto by hurting his first girlfriend, Tenten smiled back sincerely as she silently thanked whatever angels were watching over her because this situation had just bought her some more time to mentally prepare herself for the day where she had to tell him the truth and apologize for what **_that man_** did to him. "Hey there! What are the three of you doing out here?"

"Waiting for our sensei," answered Naruto, with excitement clear in his body language, "we're doing a mission that takes us out of the village."

"Good luck on that dead-last," said Neji earning a glare from the blind ninja, "a blind ninja will never amount to anything; fate will not allow it. If anything, I'll bet that you'll just be listening as your teammates get raped in front of you!"

Upon hearing that, the two teammates were about to humble the arrogant Hyūga when Naruto pulled a bit on Meilan's arm and grabbed Kikyo by the back of her bra as she pulled a combat knife out of a sheath resting in the back of her belt above her buttocks. "Ladies, be nice." Once he felt that they calmed down enough, he then turned his attention back to Neji with a bit of killer intent mixed in with his words. "As for you Mister 'Fate Defines Everything', there will come a time when your holier-than-thou attitude will be broken, and what will you when it happens? If I hear you speaking of such foolishness again, it shall be **_I_** that decides **_your_** fate."

The blast of killer intent that hit Neji struck with the force of a tsunami as it demoralized him upon being in the presence of Naruto. He then countered with his own killer intent—meager as it was, it at least gave him the strength to resist being strangled to death by the aura and retort just a little bit. "You dare challenge me? A clan-less, sightless, and talentless loser of a swordsman dares to face a Hyūga Prodigy? Don't make me laugh! Fate has decreed you the loser the second you issued that challenge!"

It was at this point that the killer intent emanating from Naruto started to intensify as he started fingering the handle of Mizu Hime. "Then prove it to me!"

Before things could escalate, the sound of a blade digging into the ground filled the air between the two of them. "That's enough!" yelled out a voice from above, belonging to the person Tenten assumed was Naruto's sensei, "While personal duels are acceptable among samurai due to their adherence to the code of bushido, they are illegal among ninja unless the duel is non-lethal. Am I understood?"

Naruto relaxed, and pulled the sword out of the ground while running his hand across the blade. He then respectfully handed the blade to his sensei, and bowed. "My apologies sensei," he said, "here is your sword."

The purple-haired woman then took her sword back, and re-sheathed it. "That's okay. Just remember that you're not in Tetsu no Kuni anymore, and I'm pretty sure you'll do fine. We ready on our first mission out of the village?"

The three of them nodded in acknowledgement and started following their sensei. Tenten had a longing look on her face as she watched the members of Team Eleven dash down the road. "Come back safely Naruto-kun."

…

[Team Seven's current location near the shores of Nami no Kuni, three days later…]

The twins simply sat around on the docks protecting the client with Sakura. It was fortunate for Tazuna that he found a gourd of sake on sale in Konoha…lord knows he needs it, given the horrible things he'd seen happen. "Kakashi-sensei, how long until our reinforcements arrive?" whined Sakura, as she tapped her feet on the ground.

"They'll come," he said, the irritation clear in his voice, "now stop whining, it's really getting on my nerves."

Frankly, the two of them could not blame him—and this really begged the question they asked themselves silently: why couldn't it have been her cousin that walked in on them? At least Sayuri would've sounded better if she whined. Hmm…yes, as the two of them thought about it, maybe they could try breaking someone on their own…as a matter of fact Sayuri would have been a great addition to their list of slaves. Oh the sound of that moan coming out of her mouth—it really made the Satsuki shiver in delight while the disguised Tsukiko kept on thinking of ways to make her moan.

Their thoughts were interrupted when they felt a very familiar chakra pulse spiking in the area approaching. Their joy was revealed when they turned in the direction of the pulse's origin. It was Satsuki that spoke first. "They're…"

"…here!" finished Tsukiko in a sing-song voice. Sure enough, the boatman had returned with four people in tow. The dark tan of Shimura Kikyo and the brighter shade of Baihe Meilan, followed by the tan that fell in between the two girls belonging to Naruto. They were accompanied by their jōnin instructor with purple-colored hair. "You're risking a lot by waiting Tazuna," said the boatman in a voice of caution, "I'm not sure about the blind kid, but I suppose getting more of these ninja here should make sure you're safer. Just make sure you finish that bridge ahead of schedule—because if Gato gets word of this, it's very likely that you're going to be very popular in the future."

Tazuna grunted. "I'll keep that in mind Geki. You just take care of yourself."

The boatman known as Geki nodded and started steering the boat away, while Yūgao faced Kakashi with a look that said 'I'm watching you, bastard!' before turning to her own students. "Our job here is to reinforce Team Seven, and to protect the client. Naruto, you're our main sensor; extend the reach of your chakra radar so that you can catch any would-be assassin before they get here. Kikyo will help provide long-range support and serve as an extra pair of eyes while you give her close-quarters protection; her job will be to shoot down said assassin or assassins before they get here. Meilan, you will aid Sakura and the Uchiha twins in guarding he client. Kakashi will take point while I have the six."

With that said, everyone got into their respective positions and started moving with unbelievable speed to do their respective tasks. Naruto was focusing on extending the reach of his chakra radar while Kikyo pulled out a sealing scroll to summon a very large longbow out of it with a quiver of equally long and heavy arrows. Once everyone was prepared, they got into their positions and started to go on the move.

…

[Somewhere in the woods, an hour later…]

A shadow in the trees had been waiting in this area for a while now; his target should be here any minute no…well, what do you know? Good things do in fact come to those that wait! And it seemed that the old man had brought in some reinforcements, which means that the fun begins now! It was here that he started studying the targets he'd been set to kill: two jōnin and six genin (only one of them being a boy) were guarding his most important target. After seeing who his targets were, the shadow started analyzing the guards—figuring out which of them was the opponent he had to kill first, and then his attention was focused on the one-eyed jōnin. So this was Hatake Kakashi eh? If he was in the team, then he could see how Gozu and Meizu had failed; the mother fucker was an elite jōnin!

Ah well, now seemed like a perfect time to greet his victims…

…

[Ground Floor…]

All seemed calm so far, Naruto was not able to pick up any hostile chakra signatures on his radar, but it did not help the ominous aura he felt. Before long, he paused upon hearing movement in the bushes; an action that Kikyo mimicked as she had noticed that disturbance as well. "What's wrong?" asked Meilan, looking around to see what it was that caught her teammate's reaction. Her answer came when Naruto pulled out a kunai from his pouch, and flung it in a direction ahead of the group in one fluid motion while Kikyo fired four arrows in the same direction in rapid succession. The result that came was five 'thunk' sounds that came from five objects digging themselves into the bark of trees.

Kikyo was about to go investigate, and so she was about to take her first step when… "Don't bother," said Naruto, getting her attention as well as everybody else's, "he was never there to begin with; at first I thought I felt the chakra reading of a ninja just before it turned into that of a frightened little rabbit. That does not change the fact that he's still here however."

Sakura glared at her rival in the affections of her mistresses. "Well if he's still here, then where is he hiding now?"

He was just about to retort when he heard the sound of large blade spinning in the air horizontally, with its trajectory heading this way! "Everybody DUCK!" he shouted, causing everyone to duck. As predicted, the object's trajectory had been changed enough as it veered away from cutting everyone down before it lodged itself in a tree in front of the group, followed by the sound of weight landing the minute the blade dug into the tree. Naruto then felt a pair of eyes looking down on him, and the rest of the escorts. "Hatake Kakashi," said the man standing on the handle of the sword, "what a pleasant surprise."

"Momochi Zabuza," answered the jōnin, looking back up at the enemy ninja with a hateful glare, "you're a nuke-nin from Kirigakure no Sato."

Zabuza grunted in acknowledgement. "It's a shame that I'm in no mood to be picking a fight with ninja at the moment, as I'm after the bridge-builder." As he studied the group before him, the nuke-nin from Kirigakure noted an oddity among the genin—namely one of them with a red arm that ended in five sharp digits and wore his Konoha hitae-ate like a blindfold. "Ah, very interesting; you've a Child of Kazan with you."

Everyone else sans Meilan turned their attention to the one whom Zabuza was speaking of, looking at Naruto with a bit of curiosity in their eyes as they saw that his gaze was focused on the boy with the red arm. "So what?" asked the blind genin, not even being affected by the killing intent of the jōnin, "You have a problem with that?"

The grin on his face was very evident under the bandages that covered it. Zabuza chuckled lightly, amused by the defiance of the brat. "Nope, I just find it interesting that I might finally have a chance at the pure, unadulterated fun in killing one of you!"

Sakura's befuddlement was clear in her voice as much as her gaze. "Child of Kazan?" she finally asked, drawing in the curiosity of the others, "What the hell is he talking about, Naruto?"

"It's a tale told to all members of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin at some point," began Zabuza, still itching for a fight to begin, "it was said that before the great Rikudou Sennin split the almighty Jūbi into nine parts, there were people that were cursed by the demon himself to become bloodthirsty beasts that spilled blood for the sake of bloodshed itself—only by wearing specially-made and sealed shackles on their arms would these people have any semblance of their normal selves. These 'Onikenshi' could call upon the powers of the demon sealed into their arms to become swordsmen of renown. The cost for this power was that their arms had become sentient; and so they had to learn to wield all weapons one-handed, even ones that were meant to be used exclusively in two hands, lest they wish to lose themselves to their tenants. The story said that they are all dead, but it was rumored that the Rikudou Sennin was the last of them."

All the shinobi in the escort detail looked at Naruto with a hint of fear in their eyes, but Meilan had none as she had known since she was there when GSD had told her lover the tale; she also knew that the tale was not complete, and that the only ones who knew how the story ended to her knowledge were GSD, Naruto, and herself. Tazuna on the other hand could only look on in sympathy for the boy as he understood that to contain a demon in one's arm was a very heavy responsibility, even if they were not the demon themselves. "So you've a basic knowledge of how the story goes," began Naruto, unaffected by the man letting the cat out of the bag, "although I do wonder if the last living member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin has learned well from the teachings of my master…you may know of him as GSD."

Upon hearing that, Zabuza's eyes had widened briefly in shock before it turned back into a desire to fight. "So you were taught by him personally, eh? Well then, I think we've plenty of time to see which one of us is the better student of his teachings!" With that, Zabuza vanished from the trees with his zanbatou and reappeared at the shores of a lake with his hands in a particular formation. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Once the name of the jutsu was called out, a heavy mist started rise and cover the entire battlefield to hide its user. As the mist started to obstruct vision, Meilan prepared herself in a stance while flexing her fists, Satsuki and Tsukiko drew their respective weapons, and Sakura had a kunai at the ready; all four of them kept their guards up around the client with Naruto standing in the horse stance with both hands out to the sides and focusing the power of his chakra radar to sense out the assassin as he created one glyph to be used at the ready and Kikyo readying another arrow in her longbow. Kakashi unsealed his Sharingan eye, and Yūgao had her sword out and at the ready. "Naruto," she said, getting his attention, "use your radar to try and detect him."

"I'm trying Yūgao-sensei, but the fact of the matter is that his chakra signature is everywhere; and combined with the massive killer intent he's letting out, it's practically jamming my radar!"

It wasn't long until the sound of evil laughter had filled the air. "Eight points," said the voice of Zabuza, "heart, lung, kidney, spine, jugular, subclavian artery, stomach, brain; these are the eight major kill-zones of the human body. I wonder which one I'm going to go for first?" As she heard this, Tsukiko was starting to get overwhelmed by the strength of the killer intent she was receiving from the rogue ninja. She wanted to end it all, a feeling shared by her sister as the two of them were tempted to bring their blades to their own throats and…

"Satsuki, Tsukiko," called out the voice of Naruto, interrupting their thoughts, "stay your blades, I won't let either of you die." Once they were both reassured that Naruto was telling the truth, both of the Uchiha twins got back into their stances.

"Touching," said a voice behind all six genin guarding Tazuna, causing all of them to jump at the sound, "but all in all use—"

Zabuza never got to finish that sentence; the reason being that he had a Kumo-standard short sword jabbed in between his eyes, followed by a foot with super-strength behind it smashing into his neck, while practically being turned into a human pincushion by multiple blades being stuck into him. The six genin briefly had a moment of victory until their target had exploded into water. "Not bad Kazan-kid," he said, with a kunai at Naruto's throat, "but it looks like I was the better student!"

The assassin's moment of smug satisfaction was erased when he felt another blade penetrating his torso. "No Zabuza," said Yūgao, "you're the worse student!" Much to her frustration, the Zabuza she stabbed with her katana turned out to be another Mizu-bunshin. Kakashi was next to move as he drew a kunai to combat the nuke-nin just in time to stop his zanbatou before he was flung into the lake with Yūgao following. As soon as he regained his footing and used his chakra to stand on the water, Kakashi began to wonder why Zabuza would throw him and Yūgao into the lake unless…

Too late! Spheres of water had engulfed each ninja separately with Zabuza reaching out and having a hand on both spheres. "Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu!" he said, looking at his next victims landside. "It seems like this job just got even easier," he said with amusement clear in his voice, "now then, which one of you shall I kill first? The annoying archer girl? The pure-hearted fist-fighter? The twins? Or perhaps the one I've been waiting to kill? So many choices…I think I'll kill all five of you first and then finish off pinkie and the target!"

It was then that he summoned another Mizu-Bunshin, and had it charge all five of them…only to be turned back into water the second the Kazan-kid spun around and sent a blast of chakra hitting the clone with a massive amount of force with that short sword of his, and all in one upwards swing. At this point, the first glyph that was orbiting over Naruto's head was already joined by a second glyph that trailed behind it. "You've seriously got to step it up a notch," said Naruto with a mocking grin on his face, "but since you're being such an asshole with us, I think it's time you see what happens when all of us party together."

The second the other genin (minus Sakura) heard that, the looks of determination on their faces made it clear that they refused to back down—that they refused to surrender. They would accept nothing less than a humiliating defeat on Zabuza's part. This would be the day when all five of them would be known as 'The Five Sacred Beasts of Konoha', when they all united together. Naruto sheathed his short sword and drew his Kiri-standard zanbatou from its sheath, Meilan pulled her gloves on tighter, Tsukiko and Satsuki had their blades at the ready, and Kikyo prepared another arrow to fire…this would be a long fight indeed…

…

**_A/N: As it stands, I've decided to hybridize Kikyo a bit later; I've decided to make her both a Spitfire and a Launcher. But either way, she won't be the only gunner in the harem._**

…

**_Naruto's Band Members as of now (will take ideas for band names):_**

**_Naruto: all plucked string instruments, but mainly guitar_**

**_Meilan: female singer and pianist_**

**_Choji: drummer_**

**_Hinata: DJ station, second female singer_**

**_Shikamaru: male singer and bassist_**

…

**_Updated Character Classes:_**

**_Kikyo: Spitfire/Launcher_**

**_Meilan: Nen Master in the beginning, all fighter classes by Shippuden_**

**_Tsunade: Crusader/Monk/Grappler_**

**_Shion: Avenger (thinking how her demon form will be)_**

**_Tayua: Summoner (Conqueror Kasijas will be the Oni boss-summon)_**

**_Fem-Gunner OC (No Name Yet): All gunner classes, but predominantly Mechanic_**

**_Tenten: Brawler/Rogue (she likes to throw stuff a lot, and so I figured Brawler would be more fitting, along with hybridizing her)_**

**_Shizune: Brawler/Crusader (likes using poison a lot, but is still skilled in healing)_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Murderous Wave—Asura: Naruto threatening Neji_**

**_Wave Manifestation Brand—Asura: Naruto preparing for battle_**

**_Neutral Wave Sword—Asura: Naruto dispels the Mizu-Bunshin_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Naruto's Daily Life" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—catching Tora…again_**

"**_Black Onslaught" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue: Calamity Trigger"—Naruto threatening Neji_**

"**_Thanatos" by Junichi Nakatsuru from "Soul Calibur IV"—fighting Zabuza_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_PTT—Push To Talk_**

**_Onikenshi—this is what the Slayer is called in Japan; it literally means 'Ghost Swordsman' or 'Demon Swordsman' depending on how you like to read it._**


	17. Nami no Kuni

**_A/N: I've decided to take a page from TrixBella's beta-reading, and put the time and location for the scene changes in brackets. As this is an AU, this is to be expected, and so people who are not into such stories, I would ask that you keep your mouths shut and don't bother reviewing. But other than that, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Somewhere in the trees…]

A silent onlooker was watching the entire battle below. Five genin were going up against one Momochi Zabuza who held two jōnin ninja in his Suirou no Jutsu and his army of Mizu Bunshin. The blind genin simply smirked and sheathed his katana before moving his hands to perform one seal: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Before long, a small battle had taken place between the blind genin's Kage Bunshin, and Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin with the former charging in and taking the initiative while three of the other genin that had a spine walked in with their colleague, taking care to avoid getting themselves killed or sidetracked in the chaos.

The witness noted the strengths of both types of clones amidst the chaos as the Kage Bunshin were dispelled into puffs of smoke while the Mizu Bunshin were turned back into water: the genin's clones were definitely weaker than Zabuza's, but they had larger numbers, a larger variety of weapons, and teamwork on their side—it was practically a war between wolves and bears. For every two Zabuza clones dispelled, five of the blind genin's followed…this was an even fight.

Meanwhile, the four genin were making good progress towards Zabuza, as the archer stayed behind to clear a path for her colleagues by raining arrows on the battlefield from afar. This was a wise choice as her longbow needed distance to be any effective; and judging by how quickly she was able to nock and loose several arrows at once, she was very proficient in its use. As this was happening, the other three female members of the group were charging in with one of the blind genin following—one of them punched through the clones with about as much force as a falling meteor, the other two worked with the blind one in slicing through the others. Once they neared the original Zabuza, a last-minute clone was created from the water in front of them to hinder them; the three female members of the team dispelled that clone, and stood in such a manner that obstructed the original's view.

What happened next was that the blind genin ran forward with his zanbatou at the ready. As he leaped over his colleagues, he had his blade seamlessly following through in its swing for a one-handed overhead strike that threatened to bisect the larger man. Seeing no other choice, and that he had little time to make another clone, Zabuza released his hold on both jōnin and jumped away—but the blind genin wasn't done; once he landed on the water, he took a few quick steps towards the nuke-nin and shouted "Crom Fria!" as he swung that large sword upwards sending a wave of Hyoton chakra riding along the surface of the water that froze Zabuza's legs upon landing.

As he struggled to free himself from the ice, Zabuza quickly turned his attention to the two jōnin that were making headway towards him. It was the one-eyed jōnin that managed to get to the fight first, matching the nuke-nin sign-for-sign in a duel of ninjutsu technique while the swordswoman grabbed the blind genin, and performed a Shunshin no Jutsu to take the both of them back to the clone battle to dispel more of them. The first attack to be performed was the summoning of two dragons made completely of water…and then the second attack that really won the battle was the large vortex of water that washed Zabuza away.

Things have just gotten out of hand! And the witness knew this because the jōnin with the red eye managed to pin Zabuza to a tree with kunai. With the flick of a wrist, a senbon needle was sent flying into the target's throat, putting the nuke-nin in a death-like trance; much to the surprise of his opponent. "Thank-you for your assistance," she said to the one-eyed ninja, as she started pulling out the kunai, "but I'll take it from here. I've been hunting Zabuza for a while now—my superiors should be glad to have his body back." As soon as the last kunai was removed, the witness hefted the body over her shoulder and vanished in a Shunshin no Jutsu—leaving the one-eyed ninja behind to fall into a coma from chakra exhaustion…they'll be back for round two, and she would make sure of it!

…

[Meanwhile, at the "Thousand Years of Spring" Dango Stand in Konoha…]

The smell of sweets was enough to make any child go crazy. While dango was the specialty of this stand, other confectionary treats were served as well; honeyed natto with rice, dried and peeled apple slices candied in its own juice and cinnamon powder, coconut-covered mochi stuffed with peanuts and topped with cherries, even agar treats that monks tend to favor, as well as the stand's specially-made honey-lemon tea served hot or cold. It was a small place to be eating, but it was a very good place to be at when one has had enough salts and felt the urge for sweets of both the tongue and the ear. This was because as she was working on the food, Haruno Sayuri usually sang to herself while cooking those delights that teased the tongue in a voice that made men's knees melt as they would try to beg her to marry them.

"Here you go!" sang out the voice of Sayuri, with a tray carrying a batch of dango along with some sake, "Now seeing as you're my favorite customer, you have the honors of trying out my new recipes. We don't have any real sweets connoisseurs around in this village, but I think you're close enough." It was then that she noted that her favorite customer had a bit of a tired look on her normally sadistic face. "What's wrong Anko? Normally you'd jump at the chance to try out my new dango."

Tired? No, the poor dear was dead-tired! And it showed because Anko was leaning her head on her arms with Kurenai next to her with the same concerned look on her face for her friend. "I'm fine," she said, "just thinking about…something is all."

After putting the tray down and setting the sake bottle and shot in front of Anko, Sayuri had a bit of a scandalous grin on her face as she watched the purple-haired ninja forego the shot and go for the bottle, much to the disgust of her best friend. "All right, who's the lucky guy?"

Upon hearing that sentence, Anko's eyes widened in surprise and she almost drowned in her sake as she put down the bottle and started clearing her throat. "What was that?" she said, as Kurenai helped pat her friend on the back.

"You heard me, who's the lucky guy?"

Kurenai simply chuckled at the idea. "Anko? Getting a man? Surely you can't be…"

Even though the look on Sayuri's face was of amusement, you could tell from her eyes that she was serious. "I saw all the signs Nai-chan," she said, before turning her attention to the only other person in the stand, "and as for you Anko: the fact that your face is bright red and have yet to respond is not helping you in your efforts to deny the fact."

As she was about to retort, Kurenai looked towards Anko—all words her mouth had died upon seeing that the pineapple-haired jōnin was in fact red in the face while making a very good impression of a fish gulping for air. "S-shut-up Sayuri," she finally managed to sputter, "I'm…not…red!"

"Anko, you're redder than a tomato and your stuttering just now isn't helping your case, so you may as well tell all before we get all our friends together to find creative ways of making you talk," said Kurenai, pushing the issue and knowing that that her best friend was just caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar and in broad daylight.

Knowing that she was cornered, Anko knew that there was no way out. With a sigh, she decided to get this over with. "If I tell you, the two of you have to promise that this stays within our circle, except for Yoko. Am I clear?"

Now this was probably her biggest secret of all if Anko requested that everyone in their circle except for Yoko to be told. The reason being that Akimichi Yoko, the sweet and cute-as-a-button niece of Akimichi Chōza, was horrible at keeping secrets—and among their circle of friends known famously in the village as the "Queens of Konoha", she was known as the "Gossip Queen". "We swear," said Kurenai, as she stood up, "but we may as well get another Queen to listen in. After all, I'm pretty sure she'd be interested too."

"Actually, I just so happen to be on my break," said a voice from behind Anko and Kurenai, surprising all three women until they saw that it was Ayame that joined in as she settled in on the counter, "now what's this about Anko's secret man?"

Upon knowing that everyone was near, and that she could trust that nobody would say a word (especially to Yoko), Anko beckoned everyone closer to listen. "Have any of you thought of pursuing a love interest in someone a bit younger than you?"

The other three girls looked to each other in confusion, but it was Ayame that broke the silence, "Depends on who you're talking about…but before we do this, can you please explain how this all started?"

She couldn't even begin to tell them how it all started, but she supposed it would have to do for her to start at the beginning. "Okay then, you all remember the time I was found after Orochimaru branded me with his curse mark right? Well when I was rescued, I was found by a kunoichi…after that day, I took to her like I would a daughter to a mother." The three women listened in, and wondered as to what their friend was getting at, but motioned for her to continue. "Whenever she asked me to do something for her, the curse mark compelled me to do it…as if it made me feel good from making her happy doing even the most menial of chores for her. Later on, I felt that same feelings for a little boy only much greater."

The three women's eyes had widened upon hearing that. The speed at which the questions came was fast enough to be unheard, but the ones that made it through included:

"Wait a minute you're into a boy?"

"How much younger is he?"

"He's not a civilian is he?"

"What's he like?"

"Who is he?"

At this, Anko turned to face the "Queen of Sweets" with an even look in her eyes after raising her hand for silence. "Okay everyone, three things! One, yeah he's a boy—and to be honest, he's almost half my age. Two, he's barely a genin, but I can tell he's more powerful than he seems. And three, Nai-chan should know how powerful he really is because she thought he would be a better tracker than that would-be rapist she has on her team. Now going back to what I was saying, I haven't seen that boy in a while—and yet whenever I am near him, the curse mark gives me such a high mixed in with lust that I want to just knock him out, tear off both our clothes, and then take him like an animal in dry heat regardless if it's in public or not."

Now the "Ice Queen" knew who her friend was talking about…and from the looks of things the "Queen of Chains" was slowly putting two and two together if the calculating look in her eyes were any indication. She then had a playful look on her face when she decided to grin at the two of them. "Well then, maybe I should go see if this boy of yours is actually able to do to me what he's done to you," said Kurenai, looking at both Ayame and Anko with a very feral grin, "maybe I'll take him right in front of the two of you!"

As the two of them faced their red-eyed friend with shock on their faces, "Y-you wouldn't dare!" sputtered out Anko, "He's too young, even for you!"

"Y-y-yeah," said Ayame, chipping in, "and besides, why haven't you asked Asuma-san out yet?"

Upon hearing this, her face had turned as red as her two friends. Yuhi Kurenai, the "Ice Queen" of Konoha, had been stalking the object for her affections—albeit in a more subtle way, but it was still stalking. To think that she had been found out was enough to make someone of her reputation red with embarrassment. If she was going down in this discussion, she's taking everyone else with her! "Well at least I'm not the only one who's got someone to stalk! Tell me Sayuri, what did you think of Iruka-kun's gift to you?"

Konoha's Queen of Sweets could only gasp in surprise. This discussion had spiraled out of control, but then again it was usually fun whenever it did happen. "The flowers were sweet, but…"

She was interrupted with an 'ahem', to the left. When they all heard that one exhalation of breath, that one cough for attention, all four of them immediately shut up and looked to see a woman about their age standing there with a jovial smile on her face—much to their self-disappointment. The woman was not sexy but her slightly chubbier build had instead optimized her for an adorable look that still attracted men, and she had blackish purple tattoos over her eyes that gave her the affectionate nickname of "Panda". To the four skinnier women, that jovial smile was her trademark 'I caught you' look. Oh well, they may as well come clean now…and hope that Akimichi Yoko did not reveal to anyone outside their group anything they were about to tell her…

…

[Nami no Kuni market district, five days later…]

This was a very sad situation that he found himself in. As he sent chakra waves to the area around him to detect threats directed at him and the client's daughter, Naruto could not help but feel the extreme sense of helplessness the place gave off. True, he'd heard in whispers on the road as to what Gato had been doing—but he never thought it'd be this bad. A little earlier, Naruto had to threaten a man that tried to rob him of Mizu-Hime as that was the only weapon he brought with him. His exact words to the would-be thief, much to Tsunami's amusement as he squeezed on the man's offending wrist were, "If you plan on using that hand ever again, you'd better refrain from touching something that isn't yours." Once he knew that the thief was scared enough to obey, he let go. Amusing as that situation was, it still opened his proverbial eyes as to how bad things were in this place.

"It must be hard," he finally said, holding Tsunami's hand tightly as she guided him to the supermarket, "I highly doubt that you need eyes to see that it's like this entire place has just up and died."

"I know," she answered, with sadness clear in her voice, "it's been like this since Gato came to this island. At first, it seemed like he was going to bring business opportunities to help our country flourish. Yeah he had business opportunities all right…for himself! But with the bridge my father is building, we can finally be free of this."

Naruto let out a grunt of agreement. "That makes two of us…this place is too depressing with Gato in charge. I only hope that we end his reign so that people can laugh and smile around here again."

It wasn't long until the two of them made it to the supermarket that Naruto extended the reach of his chakra radar that he saw the extent of the damage that Gato was doing to this place…there was barely any food in the store! At this point, the blind genin had made it a point that if he was ever to find that man, he would cut his genitals off and shove it down his throat. Before he could think any more of it, Naruto felt a small and weakened signature creeping towards him without any malicious intent behind it. He was just about to finger his katana when he heard a mousy little voice speak. "Excuse me mister, but can I have some money please?"

With his chakra radar focused on the little voice, he found that it belonged to a little girl with her hands out and looking up at him with apparent desperation in her little eyes. Naruto could only let out a sigh as he used his chakra radar to scan for any witnesses before turned to face the little girl slowly, only to shock her as she realized that the person she was begging from and that was crouching down to eye-level with her was in fact blind. He then reached into the pouch behind him, and pulled out a 500-ryo note and placed it gently in her hand. "Take this, and don't let anyone see it," he whispered to her gently, as he closed her fist over the bill, "with the troubles happening around here, I think it's especially dangerous for you to be seen walking around with this. Now go and buy yourself a treat, and don't worry about me—I have a job, but you need this more."

The little girl had a look on her face that made it obvious that she felt bad for asking something from someone handicapped, but she was also grateful that someone was willing to help her in the first place. "T-thank-you mister," she said, bowing to him with tears in her eyes, "I'll never forget this…someday I'll pay you back for this." She then ran out of the store, taking care to hide the bill in a subtle fashion…unfortunately for Naruto, this scene was witnessed by only one person who was coming around the shelves with the groceries she was looking for.

"Are you ready to go Tsunami-san?"

Once she grabbed his hand, the two of them started to walk on home. The twins were hard at work in training, but given the fact that Naruto, Meilan, Kikyo, and Sakura had mastered the tree-walking exercise already, the four of them were assigned to guard various places: Naruto to escort Tsunami to and from the supermarket, Meilan and Kikyo were sent to guard the client while he was at work, and Sakura was assigned to house-sitting duties. Everyone needed to have something to eat after a long day of work, especially given the fact that Kakashi and Yūgao-sensei believed that Zabuza would return with his accomplice. He could only hope that the client's grandson would shut-up already…the mood of this place was already enough to make him want to kill himself.

As the two of them walked, Naruto had an idea formed in his head!

…

[Elsewhere…]

A stunning beauty had a tray of medical instruments at the ready. Her ebony hair matched her eyes, and her skin was almost transparent—making her resemble the infamous Yuki-onna her mother's home country had told tales of, especially given the red lipstick she wore that enchanted so many men. Unfortunately for her, this blessing had turned out to be a curse more often than not, and especially now since a lot of the mercenaries hired by Gato were lecherous pigs who wanted nothing more than to take advantage of her. As she was in the middle of treating her father-figure, Haku heard the sound of the door opening behind her; well what do you know? Speak of the devil, and the devil comes.

"Well isn't this a pathetic sight?" rumbled the voice of the corrupt businessman, being flanked on both sides by yojinbo, "I thought I hired you to take out the bridge builder, not to lick your wounds! So what the fuck are you doing here?"

Zabuza refused to answer, which didn't sit too well with Gato. This made the man furious enough to jab his cane at the nuke-nin. "Hey, I'm talking to you dumb…" He never got to finish his sentence as he felt a strong hand gripping him at his wrist and squeezing hard, eliciting a squeal of pain from his mouth. As he looked to see the owner of the hand that worked to break his arm, Gato found that it was Haku that broke it. Just as the two ronin were about to draw their katana, they each felt a cold blade being pressed against their necks as they saw what appeared to be swords made of ice threatening to decapitate them both.

"I would recommend against that," she said with anger clear in her voice, "I am currently in a foul mood. Don't do anything to compound my bad day."

Before long, Gato watched as his thugs were both kicked to the walls near the entrance to the door. He then ran to the threshold, and turned to face the bedridden jōnin. "You have one more chance," he said angrily, "you fuck this up one more time and your life is forfeit!" He wasn't done, as he turned to face Haku with a mixture of anger and lust in his ugly features. "Same for you girlie; if your boss fails again, then I'll see to it that you will be made my personal sex slave as I rape you to death!" After speaking his mind, Gato and his thugs fled the area while Haku dispelled her ice swords.

"You really didn't have to do that," said Zabuza, with a heated glare in his eyes, "I could've taken care of him myself."

"And risk you reopening your wounds? Not a chance," she said, with an amused look on her face, "you're all I have Zabuza-sama, I'd like to keep you alive for as long as possible. Besides, you still have that bet you made with Terumi-san on who would be Mizukage first. But what are we going to do with the battle on the bridge?"

The nuke-nin could only groan in annoyance. His eternal rival Terumi Mei was not a woman any man should ever cross if they were smart; and when you make a bet with her, she**_holds_** you to that bet. It just so happened that her bet with him stated that if she became Mizukage first, that he would have to pay her with free missions for ten years. Once he was reminded of the rematch he would eventually have, Zabuza immediately knew what he wanted done. "I want you to help me take everyone else out of the picture; I will deal with the blind genin personally."

The look in Haku's eyes had turned from amused to curious. She could not help but wonder as to what was so special about that one genin. "I should be able to take care of that with little trouble at all, but why are you so interested in him?"

The grunt that left Zabuza showed his excitement at the prospect of fighting that genin. "He claims to have learned directly from my master's master, and so I want to see which one of us is the better student in one-on-one combat…and I especially am looking forward to fighting one that has been afflicted with the Curse of Kazan to see if the stories I've heard are true."

With a nod of affirmation, Haku left the bed her master was sleeping in and went behind the partition. "If it means that much to you Zabuza-sama, then I'll take care of it for sure," she said, as she threw her greenish black kimono up and hung it on the partition, followed by her ANBU pants, and then her sweater, "but in the meantime, you should be resting. I'm going out to get some herbs to aid in your healing…I only hope that you're willing to put up without food in the meantime."

As he laid there in bed, Zabuza watched as Haku left the partition in her pink kimono with nothing but a sarashi underneath and form-fitting shorts, a black satin collar around her neck, and straw sandals on her feet. Her attention however, was on getting the basket she needed for picking herbs. "Ha! I once heard that a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of pleasure…just hurry back though. The sooner we finish this mission, the sooner we can kill the Mizukage and you can walk around wearing the finest kimono money can buy without fear of being persecuted for your kekkei-genkai."

Once she had found the basket she was looking for, Haku walked out the door. She didn't want to admit it, but Zabuza had actually named the very thing she wanted to do…

…

[Tazuna's House, at night…]

The whole day was a nightmare of boredom for most of the genin, and a good deal of depression had happened as they sat at the table. For Naruto, he knew that his bummer was mostly in the fact that the village was almost in shambles, and the fact that a child was suffering his own childhood sans the glares and the hate directed at her; his other bummer was the fact that the client's grandson had come on down, much to his own displeasure. Kikyo and Meilan however, were disappointed in the knowledge that so many of Tazuna's workers had quit working on the bridge one by one…and they were witness to the first one in a few weeks. Sakura had to deal with the fact that she had to babysit and house-sit, and not fawn over the twins. This was the hour that slightly brightened up their day…and it was to commemorate the healing of both jōnin.

The twins had entered just in time with chakra burns all over their bodies, but with satisfied looks on their faces. Naruto could tell they were progressing well from the pointers he gave, because he could feel that sense of smug satisfaction coming from the both of them. Once the two of them managed to find their seats, dinner had started, but before anyone could dig in, Inari had chosen this moment to speak. "Why are all of you trying so hard in the first place?" This caused everyone at the table to face him at the outburst. "What do outsiders know of our pain? You all have three square meals a day at your own homes while we have to sit around here cowering! You all know nothing of how much we all suffer around here? So why bother? It won't matter how much work you put into it, Gato will kill you all!"

Inari could not finish his little tirade as everyone's attention was turned to the sound of something shattering and fluid hitting the table—it was revealed that Naruto's demon-possessed hand was gripping the remains of a ceramic teacup with blood dripping from the wound and mixing in with the green tea that had spilled all over his side of the table. They all noted that he had a very angry aura about him, to the point that even Kakashi was having trouble breathing. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" he asked sarcastically while facing the boy and continuing to crush the pieces of the cup in what appeared to be an iron grip and ignoring the pain, "Well don't let my little outburst stop you, please continue. I'm pretty sure you were at 'Gato will kill you all!'"

The little boy was starting to be afraid of this kid with the red arm. He could not answer, and so he wordlessly imitated a fish gasping for air. "Oh you were finished?" mocked Naruto, as he finally let go of all the pieces, "Well then allow me to retort! WHAT THE FUCK DO **_YOU_** KNOW ABOUT SUFFERING?"

As the last part was shouted at Inari, Naruto stood up and calmed down just a little bit, allowing his blood to drip to the floor as he started taking slow steps towards the younger boy. His voice got increasingly colder and colder as he got angrier and angrier. "Have you ever been starved? No? Then how about being beaten senseless by a crazed and ignorant mob every time it's your birthday? Still nothing? What about being overcharged for even the most basic necessities of life? That never happened to you? WELL THEN WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WHINING ABOUT?"

Everyone at the table that did not know of Naruto's situation before were now being made aware of every bad thing that had happened to the blond. This especially hurt the Uchiha twins, as they were unaware that the boy they loved was tormented to that point. "You're actually luckier than I am while I was growing up. You know why?" asked Naruto as he stopped in front of the younger boy, the coldness in his voice softening just by a little bit, "You have a family that loves you and supports you and has been with you from day one, while I didn't! You have a roof over your head, and comforts that everyone takes for granted…I was kicked out of the orphanage at age five and had to learn to fend for myself! You have good food to eat even now in this time when it is scarce around here, while I had to rummage through garbage just to survive! You have chances to celebrate your birthdays, while I had come to fear them because of the beatings that came with them!"

Inari could not say anything, but he could only watch as Naruto reached for the hitae-ate that covered his eyes. "And ultimately, there is also a luxury you have that I envy; one that I would trade all the strength I've gained so far just to have," said Naruto, as he finally pulled the blindfold off his eyes with his undamaged hand, hitting the younger boy with the full power of his eyes—the smoky blue color looked almost dead and froze him in his place, but it was clear that there was sadness in equal parts with pain and anger, "and that luxury is the power of sight. You live in a world where you can see all kinds of colors and all the textures you can picture Inari, while I live in a world where there is nothing but black all around. I live in a world where I can't see the orange and purple of the setting sun, nor can I see the details of the bark on the trees, and neither can I see the faces of the people I love…see their smiles, the looks of hate or pain on their faces, the glint in their eyes when they are happy…so many things to see that I will miss forever."

With his hand still clutching his hitae-ate, Naruto finally softened up just a little more. "The point of the matter is that no matter where you go, there is will always be someone who suffers worse than you. Just be glad of the blessings you already have, and try to make sure it doesn't happen to someone else if you can help it."

When he was finished, everyone had felt the strangling feeling emanating from Naruto's anger dissipate a good deal. Meilan would have rushed to bandage her lover's hand, but it was Satsuki and Tsukiko who beat her to the punch. "It's okay," he finally said, before turning his attention back to the people at the table, "if I may be excused, I just need to go outside and meditate a bit."

As he turned to leave, he felt two hands on his shoulder. "At the very least…" began Satsuki, "…let us bandage your hand." finished Tsukiko. Knowing that the twins were always adamant in whatever they wanted to do, Naruto simply gave in and sat down as the two of them placed gauze on his hand before wrapping bandages around it. With a bow, Naruto walked out and into the forest with nobody knowing how far in he was going. The silence between everyone was very palpable afterwards.

"Is everything he said true?" asked Tsunami, finally breaking the silence.

Meilan let out a sigh of true sadness. "It is," she admitted, the pain clear in her voice, "and to be honest, it's even worse than he said. I won't say exactly how, but I will say that it took me almost five years to heal him before he could trust people enough to share the same bed with me. It is not easy, falling in love with someone as broken as he is, but the process of understanding him in the meantime is more than worth it; even with such slow progress that I'm having in healing him, I've still a long way to go before truly undoing all the damage."

At that, Tazuna and his family could grasp the extent of Naruto's pain, and this was especially true in the case of Inari. The little boy now felt like shit, thinking everyone else was happier when in fact there were people who had suffered even worse. Tsunami on the other hand had shared the sympathy her father had for the boy that let his anger out at her son, and wondered as to how to help him. Tazuna felt that had another bit of inspiration to help him; one that had been added to Kaiza's bravery, and that was Naruto's will to live even with such adversity in his childhood. With that inspiration added, the old man felt determined to finish the bridge now more than ever!

The shinobi on the other hand had mixed feelings; while Meilan, Yūgao, and Kikyo already know of the pain that Naruto had to go through and wished to hold him closer to comfort him, Kakashi felt that that little outburst was the demon slut impersonating his sensei's son and trying to corrupt everyone to her side—he would not let this insult slide, and he'll make sure of it by the end of this mission! And he knew just the time to do it, because he had a feeling that Yūgao was sent to assassinate him by the Hokage himself if he tried anything to kill the slut outright. He'll get his pound of flesh, but not now…he needed to wait.

Satsuki and Tsukiko could only cry to themselves; they thought they had it bad when Itachi killed everyone else in their family. Yeah, their father was a sexist asshole, and yeah a lot of members of their family were assholes too, but neither of them felt all of them needed to die. As they hugged themselves closer, they felt determined to get Naruto into their arms and make the pain he felt from the past to go away. Perhaps in helping him, they would in turn be helping themselves in repairing their souls as well.

As she was sorting out her feelings for the blind boy, Sakura had contemplated with her inner-self as to what she felt. 'He's got a demon arm, and so that makes him a demon,' she thought herself, 'and yet, the arm doesn't control him—so he isn't the demon. But either way, demon or not, nobody deserves to have that happen to them. Birthdays are supposed to be celebrated, not feared! I can't tell what to think about this! My mom has always told me that Naruto was a bad boy and that it was okay to hurt him…while Sayuri told me that wasn't true and that people hurt him for no reason. Who do I listen to?'

'Will you just shut up?' shouted her inner-self, 'Mistresses are comforting each other upon learning that the boy they are in love with had gone through a lot of hell. You're their slave! You should be helping to comfort them! Now march your ass on over there, and comfort their hot and firm asses! And when you see that poor idiot, you will do everything in your power to compensate for everything that you said and did to him! Shannaro!'

…

[Somewhere near Tazuna's house, the next morning…]

Haku's search for herbs had been progressing well for her as she started picking each and every plant needed to accelerate Zabuza's healing. The rustling of the trees, the sound of the wind blowing through their branches; yes, this was such a peaceful sound as she strolled through the forest. Her civilian disguise should be enough to make her less threatening, but also reduced her chakra signature in the event that ninja were nearby—especially that blind ninja that interested her master so much.

Yes, the entire area was peaceful, and yet she could not help but feel naked as she felt like eyes were upon her—watching her every move. She made sure that her chakra signature was low enough to be undetectable to ninja, but high enough to see if anyone else was nearby. To her relief, there was nobody near her but it still didn't change the fact that someone seemed to be watching her. She was about to break into a run to find the herbs she needed and get out of these woods fast when she tripped over something. To her surprise, Haku never hit the floor; as she opened her eyes, she found that her forehead was just inches away from being impaled by a twig as she was being balanced on one foot. She also felt something tugging at the bottom of her kimono. "I really would be careful," said a voice from behind her, "rushing around can be more dangerous than taking your time."

Before she could contemplate any further as to the owner of the voice, Haku felt herself being pulled away from the twig as her center of gravity was being shifted to pull her back and falling on her ass. Once she found the culprit that saved her life in a semi-perverted manner, she saw that it was the blind genin, and he was only armed with his Kumo-standard short sword. She also noted that the feeling of being watched was the strongest when she was near him—was this aura coming from him? "Not to be rude or anything, but normally people thank each other after saving one another's life."

That matter-of-fact line had snapped Haku out of her thoughts as she put the basket down, and bowed before the blind boy—not that it would matter anyway, considering he was unable to see. "I thank-you for saving my life, now I'll be on my way." She then stood up and started turning around.

"If you're looking for the liverwort, you'll find plenty here miss." said the blind boy as he went back to meditating.

Now this surprised Haku enough to stop her mid-step. She then turned around to face the blind boy in meditation with shock evident on her graceful features. "How did you…"

"…know? It wasn't hard; the combination of herbs that I smelled in your basket was enough to tell me what the next ingredient is, so you may as well sit down and have a chat with me. There's no rush now is there?"

Seeing no other way out of this, Haku sat down in front of the blind kid and set the basket down next to her. "So what is a blind boy like you doing here…umm, I'm sorry, I never caught your name."

The boy's features had briefly turned to realization before he had a sincere smile on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? The name's Uzumaki Naruto, a genin from Konoha. May I have the name of the lovely lady in front of me?"

Now this, Haku did not see coming. Normally, men that called her 'toots' or 'babe' often wound up with ice senbon lodged in their bodies, but this boy was saying it in a polite fashion in such a manner that it stayed her needles. "I am Haku, Yuki Haku. Now Naruto, back to my question earlier?"

The boy now known as Naruto let out a slight chuckle as he spoke. "Right, well I could ask the same of you; what's a beautiful girl like you doing out here picking herbs?"

Haku could not help but feel the urge to sincerely smile with the boy, but she blushed upon being called 'beautiful'—and from someone who was blind too. "I'm picking them for somebody who is in dire need for them."

"They must be lucky to have someone like you in their life."

The laughter that came from her was both nervous and joyous. "I suppose they are. But tell me, do you have anyone you wish to protect?"

"I have people I wish to protect," began the boy, "and those are the few who acknowledge me for who I am. They are the few who love me for me…without those people, I would probably have just ended it all long ago."

She smiled with happiness; that someone was like her, that had someone to protect was a very joyous prospect to her. Haku could only wonder as to the expression on Naruto's face when she told him her "real" gender, which she decided to do. "That's good. It probably means that you are a very strong person. When you have someone to protect, that makes you strong and wish to become stronger." At this point, she started to pick the liverwort she was looking for with a frown. "Goodbye Naruto, I hope to see you again some other time." After a few more steps away from the boy, she then turned to face him. "By the way, I am a boy."

As she started to walk away, she heard laughter coming from Naruto on her seventh step. "Your words say that you're a boy, but your voice and your scent betray you. Ah yes by way, do you think you can do me a favor?"

As soon as she heard that, Haku turned and faced the boy with curiosity written all over her face. "What is it?"

"Would you please tell Zabuza-san that as soon as he is feeling better, that I want to have a word with him in private?"

Haku's eyes had widened in fear and shock as she realized that somehow this blind boy had found her out. "Don't be surprised that I found out this quickly," Naruto said as he started to explain himself, "the combination of scents I picked up in your basket told me that you were making an herbal mix meant to accelerate the speed at which wounds are healed, and coupled with the fact that Zabuza's scent was mixed in with yours and I already deduced as to who you work for. I can't tell you anything personal because I don't know anything for sure, but what I do know is that you'd have to be very close to his heart in order for you to have that smell of his mixed in with yours. It's very simple really, now would you be so kind as to take your hand away from that senbon in your basket?"

As she extracted her hand from the senbon that was laced around the bottom of the basket, Haku's mouth had formed an O-shape upon having her not-so-hidden-anymore weapon revealed. Her suspicion-mixed surprise was as clear in her eyes as it was in her voice. "How do you know all this? Can you see the future?"

Naruto just chuckled with amusement. "Let's just say that I've had an eye on you for quite some time now, and leave it at that. Now do I have that appointment with Zabuza or not? If you're so worried about foul play during the meeting, then you can participate so that you can hear for yourself what I have to say—I guarantee you that I have no foul play in mind."

This could go one way or another, and Haku knew it. But then again, this decision was out of her control. "I'll inform him of the meeting, but I'm not promising anything. If I sense even one instance of treachery, then I'll perforate you with so many needles that you'll put a pincushion to shame. Am I clear?"

"Crystal. Now when you have Zabuza's answer, I'll normally be here meditating at around the same hour."

And with that said, Haku left. With every step she took, she kept trying to dismiss what Naruto said as a possible lie; but no matter how much she tried to shake it off, no matter how skeptical of the meeting she was, there was this little voice inside her that told her that she could trust this boy…

…

**_A/N: Naruto threatening the thief that tried to rob him was inspired by Ulthane when he first met War in "Darksiders". The exact quote was: "You plan on usin' them hands ever again, you'd best not go touchin' that what ain't yers." As to Zabuza's fate, I am wondering if I should follow canon and kill him off, or if I should let him live…and yet I'm still deciding Kakashi's fate as well, so do help me in my decisions would you kindly?_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Class Introduction:_**

**_Mage—mages are simply just that; they are the wizard-class of Dungeon Fighter Online. On average, mages are the shortest class in the game and are the most difficult to play (physically weaker than most others). There are now two kinds of mages: male and female, and each one plays differently from the other. For example: the male mage is taller and his basic attack is a projectile, while the female mage is shorter and yet is a melee character. Female mages can become Battle Mages (lots of close-contact fighting and reliance on chasers, and so spears and poles are a must), Summoner (summons creatures to do her dirty-work and to assist in attacking opponents), Witch (can do all elemental damage, and specializes in the use of the broom), and the Elementalist (unlike the witch, this class is dedicated to doing elemental damage). Male mages on the other hand only have two subclasses so far: they can become Elemental Bombers (emphasizes more on long-range attacks and nuking the field), or they can be Glacial Masters (the male mage's counterpart to the Battle Mage, lots of close-contact fighting due to the fact that he makes a lot of weapons out of ice). Haku is classed as a Glacial Master, while Tayuya will be a summoner (Conqueror Kasijas will be her boss-summon and her flute will serve as a rod), Nii Yugito will likely be an Elemental Bomber or Elementalist, and Fu will be a Battle Mage (not sure if I should give her a spear or a bo)._**

…

**_Updated Character Classes:_**

**_Kimimaro: Berserker/Blade Master (Short Sword specialist)_**

**_Zabuza: Berserker/Blade Master (Zanbatou specialist)_**

**_Tenten: All classes except Nen Master, Striker, Grappler, Elementalist, Crusader, Monk, Summoner, Witch, Glacial Master, Necromancer, Avenger, and Elemental Bomber depending on the weapon at hand (her predominant class however, will be Brawler/Rogue)_**

**_Shion: All Priest classes, but predominantly Avenger_**

**_Hidan: Avenger (he likes to use a scythe, and his Jashin form could be his demon form)_**

**_Mei: I am conflicted as to whether I should class her as an Elementalist or Elemental Bomber…_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Mountainous Wheel—Berserker: Naruto pushing Zabuza away from the Jōnin_**

**_Ice Wave Sword—Asura: Naruto freezing Zabuza_**

**_Teleport—Male Mage: Haku getting to Zori and Waraji_**

**_Ice White Sword—Glacial Master: Haku threatening Zori and Waraji_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Uprising" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue: Continūm Shift"—Clone Wars, Naruto Vs. Zabuza-style_**

"**_Flight Over Ruined Eden" from "Darksiders"—Naruto's scans of Nami no Kuni_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Yuki-onna—an all-female type of Japanese monster that takes the form of a strikingly beautiful woman with pale skin that appears in the middle of blizzards to enchant men in such a manner that they are lost in the snowstorm and frozen to death. Shirayuki Mizore and her mother from "Rosario Vampire" are examples of such monsters, but they are either called "Abominable Snowgirls" or "Snow Fairies". The monster's name literally means 'snow woman'._**

**_Yojinbo—the Japanese word for 'bodyguard'…this is usually what ronin samurai are hired for, if not for services as hit men._**

**_Sarashi—this is a form of breast-binding in Japan involving the use of bandages; this is notably done with Kuonji Ukyo from "Ranma ½"._**


	18. Duel with a Demon

**_A/N: We're nearing the end of the Nami no Kuni arc…soon we'll have the Chunin Exams to deal with later. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Nami no Kuni Bridge, two days later…]

Things had been quieter, relatively speaking in Naruto's case, as he still heard the sound of jackhammers and shovels at work. Since he had been given the shift to guard the bridge, there was no word of workers being killed, but at the same time there were still many who were deserting the project. He'd been witness to six employees coming to Tazuna to tell him quit and things had progressed to the fact that there were only seven employees now.

"Tazuna, I've been thinking," said one such worker, much to Naruto's anger and disappointment, "Why don't we quit while we're ahead?"

"We can't quit now," said the bespectacled old man, "We've come so far."

"Yeah, but we've lost so much. Is this bridge really worth it?"

"You want to know what your problem is?" asked Naruto, not holding back any venom behind it. This had turned the employee's attention to him at the disrespect he was receiving.

"What was that you said?"

At this point, Naruto's anger had gone up. "Are you deaf? I asked, 'do you want to know what your problem is?'"

"What does a kid like you know of our troubles eh? Sure, you're blind, but I seriously doubt you know what the problem is!"

Naruto turned to face the construction worker, with the venom on his tongue intensifying. "Oh, but I do in fact know. You think I'm one of those pampered kids that are lucky enough to have parents? Tough luck, because I had to grow up real fast—and that's just enough time for me to see what the problem of this village is!"

There was outrage in the employee's aura, and it just so happened that many people had stopped in their work to listen in. With sarcasm in his voice, the employee that tried to get Tazuna to quit the project had a retort in mind. "And what pray tell is our problem?"

With the rage in his voice clear, Naruto decided to press on as his voice started fading in and out from yelling. "Can't you even see what your problem is? And I thought blind people were not supposed to be able to see anything! You want to know what your problem is then I'll tell you: you are all nothing but a bunch of cowards! You let Gato in, and you knew what he was doing, but you are all too scared of death to do anything about it! In my eyes, you are even worse than Gato because you are all so pathetic that you _let_ this atrocity happen to you and you continue to let it persist! You don't even try to fight back; you just lay down on the sidewalk willingly so that he could stomp on your necks! Have you no pride? No courage? Dignity? Where the **_fuck_** is your shame? On second thought, you want to leave now? Then do it! You'll just prove me right, and I guarantee that your ancestors will be rolling in their graves upon knowing that you did something so shameful. Why? Because you, and every one of you that has deserted or is likely to desert Tazuna in his bid to fight back are nothing more than a bunch of spineless, whiny, pussies that are less than human—you are all nothing but a bunch of worms in human skin! Hell, I'll bet even your kids and your wives have more spine and dignity than any of you here!"

When he was done chewing out the construction worker, Naruto quickly turned his head in disgust—a clear sign that he wanted nothing more to do with him. The poor construction worker on the other hand simply had his eyes wide open in surprise; in his mind however, he was contemplating this young man's words. With a sigh, Tazuna turned away from him and went back to work. "I think how he said it was a bit uncalled for," he said, his disgust in his employee clear, "but nonetheless he is right. Go about your business for now…and don't bother coming back to work tomorrow."

A look of shame had crossed the man's face as he immediately removed himself from the premises. Either way he saw it, claret was imminent if he stayed. When he was sure that the employee was out of earshot, Tazuna then turned to the rest of the construction workers. "And don't think for a second that I'm done with the rest of you; if you don't want to be here then you can follow that asshole! But keep in mind, that what the brat was saying just now is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I for one am tired of Gato walking all over me; I'm tired of watching him kill this village the way he is! And I have had it with him getting his way, while I cower in some faraway corner hoping he won't take my family from me! In building this bridge, we are fighting back—we are threatening his source of income and weakening his power over us with this bridge, and he fucking knows it! And it's because we're fighting back that he's afraid! He's so afraid of us in reality that he's sending people to kill me just to cover up the fact that he is really a dickless coward, and that he actually holds no power over us—as a matter of fact, he wants me dead because he doesn't want you all to know how right I am.

"I don't know about you guys, but I am fucking tired of being afraid. I aim to misbehave by continuing to fight back! I intend to finish this bridge so that I can actually hit the fat bastard where it hurts! So if any of you have anything to say that is a complaint or that is not helping, then get the hell out of my sight! Otherwise, get back to work!"

Naruto smiled at Tazuna's speech. He sensed the courage building up in a good number of the ones who remained—all of them having had their fear turned into pride that had been damaged upon hearing his words earlier, but some of them were really motivated by the old man's example. At this point, he came to respect the ones who stayed because they all grew a backbone…true a lot of them only stayed to prove the blind kid wrong, that they did in fact have balls, but it was still a good improvement. Now they will fight back, and for that he shall do his part. He could only hope that Zabuza got his message so that he could proceed as planned…

…

[Meanwhile, in Konohagakure no Sato…]

A girl wearing a panda jacket with ears on the hood was walking down the street wearing a pair of sunglasses and a bandana covering the lower half of her face. Her destination was to Chōza's Bar and Grill due to the fact that they bought a new DJ table there and that Akimichi Yoko was partnered up with her fellow Queens of Konoha, Inuzuka Hana and Haruno Sayuri, were to serve as judges for a talent show to find a player for it. This would be a challenge for the young girl as those three women were all music enthusiasts, and so they all knew talent when they heard it.

"Are you nervous?" asked a little girl next to her wearing a blue hoodie, "I mean, at least one of those three are bound to recognize us. And then if we get caught, we're not going to hear the end of it back home."

"Will you relax?" hushed the taller girl, "I've got it under control! Just be yourself."

"Easier said than done, we're both wearing disguises for Kami's sake!"

"Just relax, and play like you always do. We'll get the spot—I know it!"

After feeling reassured by the taller girl, the two of them stopped at the restaurant to a depressing sight—a man dressed up with an overly large T-shirt, shorts that were so low they exposed his underwear, a beanie, sunglasses, and an excessive amount of fake gold on his person was walking out the door of the restaurant hunched over in defeat. It didn't help with confidence that he was crying, but that didn't stop the taller girl from dragging her little counterpart through the doors of the bar.

"Pretentious asshole!" hissed out the voice of Akimichi Yoko, "When I find the horrible excuse of a rapper that inspired him, I'm going to gut him like a Cornish game hen!"

…

[Kumogakure no Sato…]

Surprise had filled the air as a white-haired man wearing sunglasses let out a very loud sneeze. "What's the matter?" asked Samui, looking concerned for her master, "Are you catching a cold?"

"Hey, I'm fine enough go out and dine, yo!" said Killer Bee, going back to rapping, "But still, I can't help but feel a pretty big chill!"

Karui simply sighed in frustration.

…

[Back at Chōza's Bar and Grill…]

"Tell me about it," said Hana, very angry and disappointed that another singer decided to waste their time, "but for the record Yoko, you'll have to beat me to him—as soon as I meet whoever it was that dared to fill my ears with that shit rap music (even if it was indirectly done), I'll have the Haimaru triplets rip out his fucking throat!"

Sayuri could only agree. The last person they had in the talent show didn't even know the first thing about how to operate a DJ table, and was wasting their time on horrible rap skills. This set had an electronic keyboard, discs for scratching, and a variety of slides and buttons for all kinds of sounds. "The two of you can go on without me," she said, with depression clear in her voice at being unable to help her friend, "I swear to you: if we don't find some real talent soon, I am going back to my stand, I am going to get my bat out, and then I'm going to bash myself in the head for even thinking of subjecting myself to such torture!"

"Umm, excuse me?" said a voice from behind all three women, "but I hear that there are tryouts for DJ's?"

All three of them turned around, and found a duo of little girls wearing hoodies, sunglasses, and bandanas. Yoko let out a sigh. "Sorry girls, but the auditions are over for today. You'll have to come back…"

"Don't worry," said the taller girl in the panda hoodie, with so much confidence in her voice that the three older women could've sworn they felt her smiling, "we still have time…"

…

[Somewhere in the forest near Tazuna's house, the next morning…]

The crisp and clean morning air was doing wonders for his breathing. The rustle of the leaves, the sound of construction work in the distance, even the gentle howling of the wind were aiding in his meditations. Naruto blessed the morning for such a peaceful moment to meditate—the twins were making progress if the increased height of their pacing were any indication. He was not surprised that Satsuki was progressing a little faster than her sister; this was because she was the more patient and level-headed of the two, and so she always took the time to master and perfect whatever technique she learned. Tsukiko on the other hand was essentially a master of improvisation, and so she was able to understand the trick behind the tree-climbing exercise at a slower rate but on her own terms.

In his meditations, Naruto used the chakra radar at higher and higher frequencies to try and get more accurate scans of the area surrounding him. Whenever he used this sort of echolocation, he was able to add contrasting colors of bluish white to the world of black around him—it was like seeing those old black-and-white photographs as long as the radar was on. The problem was that the pictures he saw were very fuzzy, and that it cost him a lot of chakra to use his "Mind's Eye" to see, but then again, that was why he was doing these meditations: to make the images clearer and the cost in chakra cheaper. His meditations were disturbed when he felt two chakra signatures entering his domain. "It seems someone is feeling better," said Naruto, knowing exactly who it was that showed up, "I'm actually surprised you're willing to talk with me, all things considered."

"Yeah, well you actually caught my interest," mumbled Zabuza, "and besides, it's the least I could do as a fellow student of GSD's teachings to hear you out. So why don't we get straight down to business shall we?"

Naruto simply chuckled lightly, not moving from the lotus position of his meditation. "I hear your employer wants to kill my colleagues' client. Do you even have an idea as to why that evil pig you call a boss wants the bridge-builder dead?"

A look of bewilderment had crossed the rogue ninja's features. What was that kid getting at? "No. I actually make it a rule of thumb that the client's reasons are their own."

"I assume you've not been in town, have you? Otherwise, you'll see exactly what the bridge-builder is doing is actually of benefit to the village."

"That is none of my concern."

At that, the blind genin frowned. "Oh, but it is—for you see, Tazuna is this place's only hope for a better future and Gato wants to kill any of it for this village. He wants the bridge-builder dead because what he's doing is threatening both his wallet and his power."

Zabuza was losing patience with the boy. The sarcasm was clear in his voice as he chose his next words. "That's sad and all, but I still fail to see how any of this has to do with me and Haku."

"Aren't you a little suspicious that a greedy man like Gato is willing to part with a load of money for you to kill Tazuna?" asked Naruto, still not happy with the jōnin's decision.

Now this got Zabuza's attention! He was starting to get a better idea of what the kid was talking about, but he needed to confirm. "What are you getting at brat?"

"Zabuza-san, we both know that Gato is a criminal businessman—and crooked businessmen like him do not part with money unless they need to. In fact, most businessmen I've heard of are cheap as hell, which sort of makes sense. Why pay one ninja a load of money to kill one person when you can hire hundreds of bandits and mercenaries to do the same job and for less? I'm no prophet, but I have a feeling that the next time we fight will probably be your last."

Haku held her adoptive father by the arm. She was trying to comfort him because she saw him open his eyes wide in shock. That was before she saw him look to the blind genin with something in his eyes she could not identify. "So what do you want me to do about it? I can't very well leave this contract—my reputation would be on the line. Besides, the chance to fight you is an opportunity I seriously do not want to pass up."

Naruto only grinned with a devious look on his face. "I have a plan where we all walk away from this where everybody wins. You get to keep your head and Haku's, and still get paid the money you've been owed; the Konoha shinobi I am with on the other hand get an easier time of protecting the client. The only loser will be Gato, and anybody that is on his payroll. Interested?"

"What's the catch?" asked Haku, the suspicion adding an edge to her voice.

The edge to the Hyoton-wielder's voice was not lost to Naruto, nor did it detract the devious grin on his face. "Before I give you my plan, I will have some questions for you. First off, how much money do you have on hand in total?"

A look of bewilderment crossed the features of both Zabuza and Haku as they looked each other square in the eye before turning their attention back to the kid that was grinning. "Who wants to know? Besides, why should I trust you with any?"

"My plan involves going to the casinos, and if I am going there I need to know how much you have."

In that moment, Zabuza let out a sigh of exasperation. "Fine!" he grunted out, "I have 50,000 ryo saved up, you happy now?"

"Very good, I think we can work fast enough with that amount," said Naruto thinking, "now the next question: how much did Gato say he was going to pay you?"

Still confused as to what the brat was going on about, Zabuza sighed. The kid already knew how much he had saved up, he may as well tell him the details of the contract he had signed with Gato. He may as well humor the kid. "He agreed to pay me 600 thou if the hit on the old man was successful."

At that, Naruto whistled. "Now that I can manage. Okay then, you get me all the money you saved up, and I'll guarantee you that it's going to grow even bigger. Haku will have to guide me to the nearest casino, and it will be done."

"Excuse me, 'casino'?" asked Haku, the outrage clear in her voice.

"Trust me on this; I'll have that casino killed twice over by the end of the day. If not, then I think our duel is likely to come as scheduled by the pages of history. Are we in agreement Zabuza-san?"

With a contemplative look on his face, Zabuza started thinking about the decision. On the one hand, he had a self-proclaimed casino-killer who was offering to make him a lot more money to help finance the rebellion he was fighting to start. On the other, he had a crazy kid who was lying to him so that he could use the money for his own ends. What to do, what to do? Before long, he had finally come to a decision! "Kid, if you want to get that seed money so bad, you're gonna have to fight for it first," he said, fingering his zanbatou with one hand while reaching for his curved kunai with the other, "so why don't the two of us have our duel now? If you win, then you get your seed money. If you lose, then not only will you lose your head, but that fine-looking katana at your side is mine!"

Naruto chuckled darkly as he stood up while turning to face his opponent. "You've got good eyes," he said, fingering the handle of his katana, "this is the last work of the great swordsmith Gyudo Nyudo Masamune. It reacts extremely well to chakra and so my chakra-based attacks are stronger with it. I hear it's worth millions, but Masamune-san gave it to me personally as a gift free of charge. Because of that, I am hesitant to part with it, and I feel that it would be a great insult if I lost it to anybody without a fight."

"Well what do you know? At first, I thought it was simply a fine-looking sword; but now that I know it's that valuable, I'll have to rethink some things. And because it's made from Masamune's hands, that makes the deal even sweeter. I swear to you kid, if that katana gets into my hands, I'll wield it in your name!"

"That's assuming you can pry it from my cold dead fingers old man," began Naruto as his right hand started fingering his standard-issue zanbatou while his left hand was left hanging in the air anxious to move, "but just so you know, Mizu-hime can tend to be a loyal or finicky woman as far as swords go. If you don't measure up to her expectations, then she may make you into less of a man. Are you prepared to take that risk?"

"That's the name of your katana eh? Well don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure that I'm man enough for her."

Knowing that blood was imminent, Haku stepped away. She knew that when Zabuza wanted a duel, and he was dead-set on it, he had this aura of killing intent that showed that he refused to cave in. The second she found herself a few steps away from the improvised arena, she felt a wave of killer intent that seemed to match Zabuza's in terms of raw power—and it was all coming from the blind genin that made her master's blood boil with excitement in dueling. It seemed that even her master knew that this killing intent was there as his eyes had widened in surprise at feeling such an aura, but it turned back into confidence an excitement at the prospects of fighting an opponent that was equally strong. Yes, this would be a match she would remember…

…

[Somewhere in the forest…]

He felt it! Kakashi watched as the demon-slut and the Kirigakure no Oni relatively stared each other down, fingering their massive swords and waiting for each other to make the first move. It wasn't long until he felt the combined killer intent from both combatants…only monsters make that kind of aura, and that simply proved to him without a doubt that the demon-slut was impersonating the son of his sensei! How the fuck dare she! Had she no shame?

On that night she was taken by that old man with the demonic arm, Kakashi had subtly manipulated everything in such a way that the crowd would have an easy time of killing the little bitch. He was also watching from afar as the Chunin in the group were massacred when the slut decided to show her true colors. Possessed? Pfft! Yeah right! It was clear as day that the Kyūbi no Yoko was using the form of his sensei's late son to lie to poor old Hiruzen! Since that's the case, Kakashi had no other choice but to free the old Hokage of the burdens of being lied to!

Now he had an opportunity to kill the whore! Now he could be the son his sensei and his loving wife deserved, the big brother to the little boy that died with the harlot's unprovoked attack that took Rin from him! All he had to do was wait…

…

[Tazuna's Home, almost five minutes later …]

While she guarded the house and protected Inari, Meilan felt it prudent that she aid in cleaning the house a bit. It was the least she could do. As she looked at a cup, she reached out to put it away, only to see it crack before she could even touch it. She had a bad feeling about it the second she saw it happen. Something was wrong, and she felt it.

She looked out the door with a look of concern on her delicate features. "Naruto-kun…"

…

[Elsewhere in the woods…]

The Uchiha twins had been going up the same tree for a while now, racing each other to the top, and now they were both lying down with their backs on the grass looking up at their progress as they tracked how far up their respective trees they went. The pointer that Naruto had whispered in both their ears was the biggest help to the both of them thus far, and it showed in the fact that the both of them managed to get as far as 12 meters up their trees. As they both lay on their backs, both twins were satisfied with their progress thus far—panting, but satisfied nonetheless.

"Well we seem to be making good progress aren't we Satsuki?"

"We only have only about eight meters to go. Every step we take to the top of our trees makes us one step closer to being the ones to win his heart!"

At that, the look on Tsukiko's face had turned serious. "It's also another step in concluding our argument against **_him_**…" she muttered.

Once she heard that, Satsuki shared in her sister's glum feeling. "I know what he did was not exactly kosher, but do you really think he was entirely wrong? I mean, you've seen how mom was like when she was around the other Uchiha members, save a few."

"That's not the point," answered the younger Uchiha twin, as she almost shouted the words, "the point of the matter is that Itachi killed his own family…**_our_** family. Don't you miss Uncle Wangetsu? What about Cousin Himiko? Not to mention he almost killed mom! I mean, yeah he killed everyone else in our family—the majority of whom were assholes anyway (dad included), but he also killed the few who were not! How can you justify that?"

"Don't get me wrong sis, I'm with you on the revenge for the few family members who were not assholes and I'll follow you to the grave because I love you through thick and through thin—Kami knows what I'll do if you die on me. It's just that I'm afraid of what will come of it. I mean, once we get started on this path, who knows where this will stop?"

Tsukiko had a contemplative look on her face. With a long, drawn-out sigh, she had the answer prepared. "I plan on this ending as soon as we end Itachi."

"Even if you have to kill Naruto in the process?"

Those words had hit a nerve in Tsukiko as she looked to her older sister with horror crossing her features. "No! I absolutely refuse to do that!"

Satsuki looked to Tsukiko with a sad look in her eyes. With that one look, the younger twin understood the warning in her sister's eyes even before she would say it. "If we follow the path of revenge, people will always get caught in the crossfire. In our case, it's only a matter of time before people we love are in it. The only question I have is how many people have to get stuck in the crossfire just so that we can kill him? I don't want people to die unnecessarily."

Now that she thought about it, Tsukiko finally understood what her older sister was getting at. If they continue down this path, how long until someone they love gets caught in the crossfire; until their mother gets caught in it? What about Naruto-kun? Would she be willing to kill Naruto just to kill Itachi? With a long-winded sigh and words ready in her mouth, she was just about to say something when she heard the sound of steel clashing on steel.

The twins looked to each other, as if wondering if what they heard was an illusion before they ran off to the direction of the sound upon hearing it again. This was not the sound of a blacksmith's hammer pounding at a fresh ingot of steel against an anvil; this was an actual sword fight going on judging by the weight of the steel they heard! With that on mind, the Uchiha twins ignored the feeling of weariness burning away at their legs and adding weight to their chests as they ran to the direction of the sword fight.

When they arrived, they found themselves slowed by a sort of dense fog before they were intercepted by a cage of ice spikes shooting up from the ground around them and the apparent duel that had apparently started. To their fury, the fake Kiri-ANBU had appeared before them. "I really wouldn't disturb them," she said from behind her mask, "this is a duel of honor between students of the same basic school of swordplay. Your friend is currently trying to win a bet to try and make things easy for the rest of you Konoha-nin—just sit back and have faith." She then turned to watch the duel that was going on behind her. "And don't bother trying to break the ice, whether figuratively or literally; it's laced with chakra, and so it won't melt until I will it to do so. The two of you will be free once the duel is over."

Seeing that they had no way out, the Uchiha twins simply watched from behind their icy cage as Naruto did battle with Zabuza in a dance of blades. What they saw was burned into their minds as they witnessed the younger ninja's mastery over his weapons and the teachings of his last sensei showed as he wove through Zabuza's heavy swings with the grace of a goddess and counterattacked with his tetsubo with about as much force an oni was likely to use. Above his head were two glyphs similar to the ones they saw him use when they rescued Kakashi and Yūgao, and he was surrounded by a ring of runes that was slowly rotating around him. Soon, they were joined by a third glyph while Naruto jumped over another horizontal swing and then he swung his club upward before bringing it back down for that move the two of them saw him using on the first day of class. Unfortunately for him, his efforts were for naught as the wheel of chakra had shredded a Mizu-bunshin…the only effect it now had was that it created a fourth glyph over Naruto's head before the two of them stopped momentarily to catch their breath.

The twins had looks of curiosity on their faces when they saw the glyphs appear just like that. What was significant about them? "Impressive Zabuza-san," said Naruto as he panted, while sheathing his tetsubo, "most people are caught off-guard when I use this technique on them. As a matter of fact, since you're dueling with me in the first place when it's supposed to be illegal among ninja tells me you follow bushido well. I'm pretty sure you would've made a great samurai one day."

"And for you to stand up to me for so long tells me you're at least on par with my protégé," replied Zabuza, grinning wildly at his opponent under his bandages, "I think you'll be more useful to me alive than dead! And now that I think about it, those symbols of yours floating above your head seem to make you even stronger…once I find out the secret behind them and learn how to use them, my rebellion is as good as won!"

At that, Naruto simply let out a light laugh as he continued to pant. "It would've been easier if you just gave me the money. I've heard whispers about your coup against the Mizukage while studying under GSD-sensei, and I also heard that you're not the only rebel faction fighting against him. From I've heard, a woman by the name of Terumi Mei has already got a good head start over you."

"Yeah, but I want to see if you're worth every penny." He quipped.

"If you're that stubborn, then I guess I'll have to really beat you down and I have the technique to do it…" The two of them stared each other down at that. Even the twins could feel the tension in the air from behind their cage as the two of them started reaching for their weapons and the silence was such that one could hear a pin drop from a mile away—the only thing that could be heard on the other hand was the sound of the four runes above Naruto's head as they gave out a low and pulsating whine as they orbited above his head. One thing was clear with those two: whatever was going to happen was going to be quick.

Suddenly, Naruto quickly drew his katana, charged a large amount of chakra into it while winding up for a heavy swing, and swung downwards but not before shouting out, "ASURA BUSTER!" as he sent a large crescent-shaped wave of chakra flying towards Zabuza at high speed and creating another chakra-amplifier above his head. The result of this ended up with the wave cutting a gash across Zabuza's chest, and more than twenty trees being bisected in a straight line. The speed of the attack was such that the rogue ninja barely had time to make a Mizu-bunshin at the last minute, but that moment was enough to allow Zabuza to get even closer. Naruto simply smiled and suddenly raised his hand. All five of his chakra amplifiers flew into a ringed formation, knocking Zabuza back before he hit some kind of invisible wall. The next thing to happen was that the rogue ninja noticed that he was rising into the air, while the five runes collapsed into large spheres of energy. At that, he knew it was helpless for whatever was going to happen. When he had reached a certain height, Zabuza saw he spheres rushing towards him at high speed. The impact of the first sphere was like getting hit by at least a hundred of his own chakra-enhanced fists, the next hit with almost the same amount of force. After that, it was simply wash, rinse, repeat as the five spheres hit him at increasingly higher speeds.

By the time the jutsu was done, Zabuza was sent flying and into a tree…he then watched as Naruto walked forward with that fine-looking katana of his. He willed himself to move and fight back, only for him to stop, the tip of a sword directed at his throat. "Do you surrender?"

There was no other way out of this, he knew. Oh well, it wasn't like he had anything to lose, now was there? He heaved a sigh. Zabuza had the words of surrender ready in his mouth only to stop as Naruto quickly swung his sword to cut a kunai in half and then performed an upwards cut behind him in order to cut a log in half, shortly before he was stabbed in the back. "I knew you were there Kakashi," he said as he felt the blade, slowly digging closer towards his heart, before he felt it being taken out just in time for him to try and strike down the meddler, "I wasn't sure when you'd snap and try to kill me."

"You think I haven't seen your techniques before you slut?" asked the masked ninja, brandishing a bloodied kunai in his hand and his Sharingan eye active, "I remember seeing Kushina-sama using those same exact techniques, and I will not allow you to sully her memory when you've murdered her!"

Ignoring the pain, Naruto managed to prepare himself for another attack with Mizu-hime at the ready. "You're little better than the idiots that have tried to kill me in the past," he said, sneering at Kakashi, "at least you know that the Kyūbi no Kitsune is a woman…but you fail to understand the idea that if I were a henge, I would have been dispelled by now. Now for the last time, I am not the Kyūbi no Kitsune—she is sealed into my arm!"

"Shut-up you demon slut! Your lies will not affect me! I see through your disguise—you're not one of those unfortunate souls that have demons sealed in their arms, _you are the demon!"_ Once he let out those last four words in a shout, Kakashi charged in for a lunging stab at Naruto only for the blind genin to dab his sword in his own blood, and then quickly performed a cut in the shape of the kanji for 'ten'. The effect it had was instantaneous as Kakashi was knocked back by the cut which penetrated his flak jacket. Naruto started taking steps towards the jōnin, ready to decapitate him with his sword, only to feel pain after the fourth step. He then started gripping at his chest before coughing up blood.

"Aw, what's the matter?" asked Kakashi in a mocking tone, grinning wildly under his mask as he twirled the kunai he used to stab Naruto, "Is the demon whore finally feeling the effects of my poisoned kunai? Well don't be surprised, because this mixture is guaranteed to weaken you Bijū and Jinchūriki before killing you in a slow and painful manner. The good thing is that I'm feeling generous enough to end you now!" Once he stood a few inches away from his victim, Kakashi looked down. "Any last words whore?"

With one last effort of defiance, Naruto managed to spit in Kakashi's face. Angered by this, the jōnin raised his kunai up to stab the boy in the head only drop the blade as an arrow made of ice penetrated his hand, and was then followed by three more ice arrows that pinned him to the ground. He turned just in time to watch as the imposter Kiri-ANBU ran up and smacked him across the face with a bow made of ice before grabbing both Zabuza and Naruto and teleporting away from the battlefield. Upon knowing that he had failed yet again to kill the 'demon whore', Kakashi let out a roar of anger!

Little did he know that he had two witnesses against him that had just fled the scene swiftly and silently. Witnesses who both swore to kill the jōnin for what he'd just done!

…

**_A/N: As a reminder to those who have not been paying attention, Satsuki is the older twin by 1 second. Anyway, I've decided that both Zabuza and Kakashi will die in this canon (the latter will be dying much sooner)._**

…

**_Updated Character Classes:_**

**_Jūgo: Berserker/Avenger_**

**_Shizuka: Striker (she will encounter Naruto in the Chunin Exams with the Dark Elves)_**

**_Karin: Crusader_**

**_Sayuri: Blade Master (Bludgeon)_**

**_Fem-Samurai: Blade Master (Katana) (not sure how Mifune will take to his niece being in love with a shinobi, and one he knows because of GSD no less)_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Murderous Wave: Asura—Naruto's killing intent vs. Zabuza's_**

**_Path of Frost EX: Glacial Master—Haku intercepts the Uchiha twins (in this case, it is a controlled version)_**

**_Wave Manifestation Brand: Asura—Naruto starts gaining glyphs_**

**_Mind Snap!: Asura—the ring of white runes orbiting Naruto_**

**_Wave Wheel Slasher: Universal Slayer—making another glyph_**

**_Spirit Crescent: Asura—First move of Round 2_**

**_Agni Penacle: Asura—Naruto finishing off Zabuza_**

**_Flip-Side Counter: Blademaster—Kakashi interrupts Zabuza's surrender_**

**_Gore Cross: Universal Slayer—Naruto stops Kakashi_**

**_Broken Arrow: Glacial Master—Haku saves Naruto and Zabuza_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Dreams of Cruelty" by Valve Studio Orchestra from "Team Fortress 2": Naruto chewing out construction worker_**

"**_Duke Devlin's Theme" from "Yu-Gi-Oh!" (US version): Zabuza's challenge_**

"**_The Next Door (Indestructible)" by Exile from "Street Fighter IV": Tension build-up and then the duel_**

**_"Jinchūriki" by Takanashi Yasuharu from "Naruto: Shippuden": Kakashi's sneak-attack_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Bushido—this is literally Japanese for "Way of the Warrior"; it is a code of conduct that samurai follow in the same vein as chivalry for knights._**


	19. Finale at the Bridge

**A/N: And now we conclude the Nami no Kuni arc…next up is the Chunin Exam arc, where Naruto will properly meet Anko. Do read and review would you kindly?**

…

[Nami no Kuni Bridge, six days later…]

It had been six days since the incident in which Naruto was taken away. By the time Satsuki and Tsukiko had returned to the bridge-builder's house, Tazuna and his family were already told a story by Kakashi, where he claimed the boy was poisoned and kidnapped by Zabuza and his assistant just as he had practically won a duel against the former for reasons unknown. The family was concerned about this, but surprisingly it was Inari who seemed the most confident that the blind genin would return for them. Yūgao and the other shinobi in the group however, were suspicious of Kakashi's story and they could see it in the twins' eyes when they had just arrived. And so with a privacy seal activated while the Cyclops was out guarding the bridge, the twins had told their fellow shinobi of what really happened in the woods between Naruto and Zabuza, and what happened when Kakashi jumped in. The reactions of everyone in the room were different: Yūgao looked very concerned (understandably so, because of how effective Naruto's use of his symbols was), but both twins were unsure as to why she looked like it was a child of hers that was just kidnapped. Sakura on the other hand was shocked that their sensei would do such a thing when it was obvious that Naruto had already won. Kikyo had a deadpan look on her face as always, but it was clear from her eyes that she was near the point of tears, and the two of them knew that Kakashi would be a pincushion of arrows by the time this mission was over with. Meilan took the news of what had happened the hardest as she had grabbed both of the twins in a hug with all of her superhuman strength, crying a river over them out of fear of what may happen to her love. Now the reactions of the other girls, they expected, but neither Satsuki nor Tsukiko expected what Meilan was doing to happen. They did not expect to have bisexual fantasies involving Meilan and Naruto once they freed the dobe from Zabuza, after the mission was done.

After they shared with their fellow women about what really happened to Naruto, it was agreed that revenge against Kakashi was in order. It was at that moment that the twins shared another secret that they discovered upon fleeing the scene. On their way back to the house, they both felt a burning pain in both of their eyes and were each shocked at what they saw in the other. The Uchiha twins both had a working Sharingan in both of their eyes. Each of them had one tomoe in one eye and two in the other and in such a manner that it differentiated the twins from each other. While Satsuki had one tomoe in her right eye and two in her left with an inward rotation, Tsukiko was the opposite, with one tomoe in her left eye and two in her right and an outward rotation. This worked in well with their plan for vengeance; Kakashi was assigned specifically by the Council to train the twins extensively in the use of their Sharingan.

When they told Kakashi about unlocking their Sharingan, they didn't tell him how they did it, and neither did he care; he just saw his job in teaching the Uchiha twins to be even easier, which was another advantage in their favor when getting revenge because the fool was unknowingly tightening the noose he would be hanged with, a noose that the two of them were imagining around that wretched, perverted, and traitorous neck of his whenever they saw him. They also noted that Kikyo and Meilan were imagining how they would kill the one-eyed fool as well. They could see it now: the remains of a jōnin once known as Hatake Kakashi cut up into pieces and perforated by arrows and covered in bruises.

"Hey, Touji, you hear about what happened in Gato's sector?" asked one of the construction workers on a break, coincidentally getting the attention of the Uchiha twins.

"Who hasn't? Word's already spread throughout the village like wildfire."

With a look of curiosity in both of their faces, Satsuki and Tsukiko moved closer to the two construction workers. "Excuse me, but can you please fill us in…" started Satsuki.

"…on what you're talking about?" finished Tsukiko.

The two construction workers looked at each other with a searching look in each of their eyes. "Shall I do it?" asked the worker named Touji.

"Be my guest," said his colleague, "it's already known among the villagers anyway, and it's only a matter of time before the ninjas hear of it."

"Well then, let's start at the beginning. I'm pretty sure by now you know that Gato's been taking advantage of all the debts and extortion he's been levying on us to get money and power, right? Well the thing is, even though he enjoys the power, he still needs a faster and more legal source of income. Being a smart criminal businessman, he's built and invested in casinos using all the money he pilfered from us to finance fancy pachinko and slot machines, and maybe a brothel or two. Beginning with the sector of town that he already owns, he plans to turn the entire village into his crime empire where only he can profit.

"Anyway cutting to the chase: from what we hear, a few nights ago, a couple of strangers came walking into one of his Cho-Han dens. One of them was dressed like a monk with a fukaamigasa on his head, and carrying a fancy-looking sword. The guys already gambling there were a bunch of Gato's hired thugs, and they saw the fake monk as easy pickings. Some of them even eyed the girl with the monk as easy rape material. The fake monk put in about 50 thousand ryo to join in. As you can imagine, this was a large amount of money, which is how everyone knew he was a fake. When the dealer landed the cup on the stand, the monk bet everything that the result would be odd."

"Did the fake monk lose?" asked Satsuki.

"No, he won. Then he cleaned out the dice den within a good half-hour. Needless to say, the fake monk and his female companion were then seen at several other casinos, and before you know it, ten of Gato's casinos are forced out of business. Now if this was Tanzaku City where practically every building in town is a casino, then nobody would've given a rat's ass to ten casinos gradually going down. But the fake monk has practically taken half of Gato's income in a short amount of time! And because none of his casinos were insurable with stolen money, I can honestly say that the damage is beyond repair. With Gato's wallet bleeding hopelessly, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone's celebrating at his expense. But I can't help but wonder where the hell is all that money going? We really need it back right now!"

"Tell me about it," said the construction worker, "according to my friends who worked in Gato's sector, the fake monk took at least one million ryo by the end of the last day. Nobody got a good look at his face, but judging from the fact _that_ he was seen with a katana, it's very likely he's a rōnin who bust out of jail."

…

[Meanwhile, Fugaku's Mansion…]

So many things to clean up in the armory! And it just so happened that Hiten was coming over in a few moments! Mikoto no longer had any use for the weapons stored here, but her daughters were likely to be in need of them given that they had taken up the role of shinobi. So many weapons for each kind of mission, some with memories behind them: shuriken by the boxes, Kirigakure-standard kunai for the blame-game, Iwagakure-standard naginata for when reach was a must, replacement ninjato for utilitarian use, even the gigantic war fan of Uchiha Madara. She even had a memory or two from several of these weapons, as she remembered the training weapons she had from when she was a child in the academy. Such fond memories and yet, they were dwarfed by the memory of one particular weapon that was stored here; one that all Uchiha members had sworn to never ever use under any circumstance. This was a lesson she'd learned the hard way. She only wished…

"Ah, such good times," said a seductively sinister voice, "I remember those days…"

Oh she knew where that voice was coming from! Mikoto knew that the owner of this voice lived in the armory to never be used or to see the light of day ever again. She knew the tale of this blade all too well…she had scars on her back to remind her that those were not simple fairytales. It was then that she remembered why she never came back down here ever again.

"Still ignoring me Miko-chan?" said the voice, with feigned hurt, "But we had sooo much fun! Don't you remember? That mission over in Iwa?"

Try as she might, she could not forget that mission in Iwagakure, where they were supposed to spy on a camp of shinobi that were about to attack Konoha. Those were the days when she was as feared in the shadows as her friend Kushina. She killed so many on that night—and unfortunately, a civilian child got caught in the crossfire…a time that she would never forget. The sad thing for her was that she remembered the joy at the time for all the blood she had spilled, and it made her feel like a monster when she realized what she'd done; all because she gave in to the seductive voice that lived in the sword.

She almost yelped when she felt a large hand on her shoulder. "Miko-chan?" said a masculine voice from behind her. Mikoto looked behind her, and saw the massive form of her lover. "Are you all right Miko-chan?"

"Y…yes Hiten, I'm fine…"

With a long sigh, Hiten immediately understood what was wrong. "How long has he been talking to you?"

"Not long. You just arrived when he started talking."

Hiten held his love in a warm embrace as she shivered in fear and in shame for what she did in the past. As a blacksmith, he was privy to the fact that all weapons took on the soul of those that forged them; and as such, some of them carried evil souls. The sword he was looking at was an example. It was a full-size katana mounted on a sword rack made from deer antlers. Its mounting however was a black-lacquered sheath with a violet sheen and an inlaid section of red sharkskin, brass fittings, and a leather hand wrapping. He also knew that under the sheath was a perfectly-made black blade with a blood-red temper line in the shape of fangs. This sword, aptly known as "Onimaru", was the very definition of evil and was the manifestation of the undying hubris and envy of Sengo Muramasa that was responsible for its creation! "I can take him away," he said, "and then I can put him somewhere where he can no longer hurt anyone, least of all, you."

"It's not for my sake that I'm worried about," began Mikoto, "I'm worried that he may be trying to seduce my daughters with his power as we speak. A few days before the start of their mission, Tsukiko and Satsuki came to me one time complaining about voices they heard in their sleep. At first, I thought it was nothing—and then I came to the conclusion that he is trying to seduce them like he did me. And to make things worse, even if I don't come on down here, he's still trying to reach me even though I keep ignoring him."

Upon hearing this, a look of shock had crossed his features before Hiten settled on rage. "That's it!" he growled, trying his best and failing to hold back his anger, "That thing has gone too far! It's too dangerous to keep around, and if it seduces your daughters with its power, I hate to think of the result. Nobody messes with the people I love, least of all a sword possessed by an evil demon!" With that said, he stomped towards the evil katana, and grabbed it from its mount as he gnashed his teeth at it. "I know you can hear me Onimaru, and I know that you know that I am unaffected by your power. I also know that you are practically indestructible, and so nothing I do will ensure that you die off—however, I can seal you away so that you can do no harm! I'll make sure that you will not be able to seduce anyone ever again!"

Mikoto could not believe this was happening this sword was making her love into an angry monster that he would disregard her presence! "I know what you're going to say Mikoto," he said, "I'm sorry about my outburst, but you know I'm right. This sword has been asking for it, and now it is going to be sealed away. He's gone too far this time, and now I'm going to make sure he never hurts anybody ever again, not you, and most especially not your daughters. Never again will it drive another owner to madness, and I will see to it!"

At this point, she watched as he left. Mikoto then realized that Hiten's anger was not driven by wanton rage by the sword that had once driven her mad and almost killed her; no, the sword had indeed created anger in her love—it was the righteous anger from those he loved being threatened by the cursed blade. She could only weep to herself at the fact that it was her own great-grandfather that brought the accursed blade to the Uchiha compound, where it was used by her lineage up until she was chosen to wield it. How could she not weep when she knew that all members of her side of the family had been driven insane with bloodlust by this sword, and so it would be no different that her children would be susceptible to its corrupting power? How could she not let out moans of sadness at the fact that this sword was also affecting her lover through his rage and desire to protect her and her family?

…

[Nami no Kuni Bridge…]

Kakashi simply hummed silently to himself. At any moment, and Zabuza would be here to kill his client for the money that Gato would pay him. But he didn't care. The demon slut was surely dead as doornails, if the poison he'd used on his kunai had anything to say about it! He smiled to himself with smug satisfaction under his mask at the thought that the deed was done. There would be no more of that bitch mocking him simply by living! He laughed silently to himself at the thought that the whore was probably being gang-raped by multiple demons in hell by now, while his sensei and his family watched in heaven as the cunt got what she deserved. Yes, he would love to see that demon slut getting- his train of thought was interrupted by a rock hitting him in the back of his head.

"Oi! Kakashi-baka!" cried out a very familiar voice from behind him, "Didn't you say your poison was supposed to kill me? If so, why am I still alive?"

At that, the one-eyed jōnin could only open his eye in surprise. He then turned his head to see a sight he very much did not want to see: it was the Kyūbi with a mocking smile on her face, tossing a rock in the air with the red arm. He also noted that her other hand carried a broken and bloodied sword—the Kumo-standard short sword if the handle were any indication. "And by the way Tazuna, I just saved your family from a pair of ronin that were here to kidnap your daughter, they both know the truth of what REALLY happened between me and Zabuza. To tell you the truth, I don't think they really liked what you did Kakashi."

Now this was not good. Kakashi simply grit his teeth under his mask with rage. "Now hold on kid," said Tazuna, grabbing the demon-brat by the shoulder and delaying her momentarily, "I don't know what's going on here, but I don't think it's a good idea to be attacking your own comrades."

Naruto let out a snort of anger at that. "Comrade? Him? The bastard that you're protecting almost _killed_ me! If it weren't for our imposter ANBU friend, I would have been dead from the poison when he stabbed me in the back! I've always known that asshole was against me when I sensed his aura the first time we met; in fact, I suspect he's the reason why I've almost been killed back home all the time. Now, step back so that I can deal with that evil asshole here and now!"

Once he heard of the boy's accusations, Tazuna looked at Kakashi with confusion crossing his aged features. "He's telling the truth," said Satsuki, getting his attention, "we saw that bastard stab him in the forest."

"The only reason we hadn't come up front with the truth was because he would discredit us instantly," finished Tsukiko, "and we've been waiting to plot our revenge against him!"

Kakashi looked at his so-called 'star pupils' with rage in his eye at their apparent betrayal, but that did not change the fact that Tazuna now had a look of disgust in his face, and quickly stepped aside while he joined everyone else in glaring at the traitorous jōnin. They all knew that blood was about to be spilled now, and none of them wanted to get caught in the crossfire! The tension in the air was palpable—Kakashi brandished what appeared to be his poisoned kunai, while Naruto stood at the ready, dropping the handle of his broken short sword while gripping his katana. However, Naruto's killer intent intensified and Kakashi realized that this killing intent was far greater than anything he could muster; he started suffocating under the pressure. "Uzumaki Naruto!" called out a voice from the incomplete end of the bridge, "I challenge you to a duel!"

Upon hearing that, Naruto let out an annoyed sigh before turning to face the direction of the voice, "You again? Haven't you learned your lesson? GSD-sensei is not here, neither is he interested in teaching you! Now go back to Amegakure and mourn your bandit butt-buddies, Aoi, before I remind you why you will never be his student!"

The man named Aoi looked flustered before he finally settled on anger, then simply grinned as he took out what appeared to be the handle of a sword. He channeled a good amount of chakra into it in order to create a lightning chakra blade. "Who wants to be taught by that old hack anyway? Besides, now that I have the Raijin no Ken, I am practically invincible!"

At this point, Naruto raised his hand, and sent a blast of chakra out in all directions just as Kakashi made another attempt at the young blonde's life, knocking back the jōnin in such a manner that he was momentarily paralyzed from hitting a wall. "Don't think for a second that I'm done with you yet, Hatake." he said, still facing the nuke-nin with the chakra sword, "I'll get back to you soon enough." Once he was assured that Kakashi would not be a problem, he then turned his attention back to Aoi, "As for you! You're pathetic Aoi! You let the power of a legendary artifact get to your head! And now, you will pay for it!"

"You know what's pathetic? Your damn sensei! I'll bet he wanted to teach someone to be like him so much that he made you blind too! That, and you're seriously outnumbered! With the army I have at my beck and call, I'll guarantee that you'll die a disgraceful death!"

It was here that the construction workers began to panic. Seemingly hundreds bandits and mercenaries were climbing up the unfinished end of the bridge. And at the forefront was Gato with his arm in a sling. "I honestly don't give a rat's ass," he said with a sneer, "and when I'm through with all of you, I'll find that bastard Zabuza and his little bitch, then allow my men to gang-rape her in front of him!"

"Hey, fatso! How's your wallet? I'm pretty sure I hear it screaming in pain from all the times I've been _winning_ at your rigged casinos, and all from trying to con a very expensive_sword_ off of me!" shouted Naruto, causing all the construction workers to stare at the blind kid with shock in their eyes. This was the stranger that killed Gato's casinos? Upon hearing the declaration, the businessman turned red with anger.

"The women here are yours to do with as you please, but I will pay a bonus fee to the man who kills that little bastard!" With that said, the Tyrant of Nami no Kuni disappeared behind his thugs, Aoi following him after deactivating his chakra sword. The chance of a bonus and the opportunity to use such hot girls as outlets for their sexual frustrations was enough for the mercenaries to let out a whoop of excitement.

"So many targets," said Naruto, listening to the cacophony of shouts and mercenaries advancing as he created a glyph over his head, "and I can't help but wonder as to which one of them I'm going to hack apart first."

"What says you to a dance?" asked Meilan, flexing her fists.

At this, Naruto grinned. It had indeed been a while. "I'm all for it."

"Well what about us?" asked Kikyo, now holding what looked to be a pair of handheld crossbows in her hands.

As if on cue, Tsukiko drew her dual blades. "If this is going to involve dancing…"

"…then why not turn this into a promenade?" finished Satsuki with her katana in hand.

"If you insist," said Meilan, getting ready to fight, "But if you're going to join in, you're going to have to keep up!"

…

[Elsewhere…]

Their getaway was perfect! Nobody noticed as the two of them left Nami no Kuni. And now they were going to leave with the money they needed! This was an outcome that Haku had very much wanted. As she walked on the road with her master, she knew that it was a shame for her that she didn't get everything that she wanted. "Still thinking about him?" asked Zabuza, eliciting a blush from the girl as the two of them stopped on the road.

"What are you talking about Zabuza-sama?" she asked, trying to play it off.

The amused look on Zabuza's face under his mask had said it all, and Haku knew it. "You think I didn't see what you did before you left?"

"Zabuza-sama, it was just a moment!" she whined, trying to defend herself. Ultimately however, she knew that there was no escape. With a long sigh, Haku gave up trying to deny it. "Besides, I have more important things to do than to think about a kiss I gave to a boy's cheek."

He was not going to have any of it. She was in denial, and Zabuza needed to get her to admit it, lest it becomes a problem in the long run. "Girl, it was more than just a moment! You practically nursed him back to health with about as much urgency as you do with me when I'm injured. And don't tell me that you're not thinking about getting him to kiss you on the lips! I was there when you treated us at the same time. The look on your eyes, even now, tells me that you're falling head-over-heels for him."

Upon hearing this, Haku had turned as red as a tomato. She was most definitely caught red-handed. And with a long drawn-out sigh, she started biting out her words. "Even if I am head-over-heels like you say, I still have more important things to do. Not the least of which being that I have to repay you for saving my life and aiding you in your rebellion against Yagura. As of this moment, I don't think I'm ready to go see him again."

It was here that he understood what she meant. "When Yagura is dead, your debt to me will be fulfilled," he said, causing her to look at her adopted father-figure with curiosity in her eyes, "look at it this way Haku, the sooner we kill that bastard the sooner you'll be free. Free to live your life, free to wear those fancy-looking kimonos I've seen you looking at, hell you'll even be free to fall in love with the brat. Until then, you have to stay alive; if you want a future with him, it'll be no good if you're dead."

"But what about you?"

"If I die before you, then I won't have any problems if you served under Mei should you survive. The woman's been kind of bitchy to me what with our rivalry and all, but I think she's a good candidate for Mizukage if I don't make it. Plus, I know she'll take good care of you; she may be a bitch, but I know that she's still a good woman and I trust her more than any person in the world aside from you."

At that, Haku could only be wide-eyed in surprise as she heard her master speaking of his demise. "Think of this as my last will and testament to you Haku," said Zabuza, interrupting her train of thought, "After all, it's the least I can do since you're practically a daughter to me and all. Now shut up and keep walking. The sooner we get back to the docks with our funds, the sooner we can win this war and my bet with Terumī."

It was here that Haku then picked up her pace with inspiration in her heart. She'll fight this war with Zabuza-sama; and like he said, she'll make sure she survives to see him again!

…

[Nami no Kuni Bridge, five minutes later…]

It had been five minutes since the 'dance' had commenced, and Yūgao could not believe her eyes! She had always known of the merits of teamwork ever since it had been drilled into her at a young age, but this was ridiculous! How can a group of five genin work so flawlessly together that it would wipe out almost half an army of bandits and mercenaries? This was no dance of death…this was indeed a full-blown promenade! The grace of their attacks, both coordinated and individual, merged together to turn the area into a bloodbath with few injuries on their part. An example of such teamwork being taken to the extreme was when Naruto – now with four glyphs – used that strange jutsu he used on Kakashi to blast all bandits around him away, allowing Kikyo to pick them all off from the air with precise shots to the head, while Tsukiko wove in and out of the battle slashing the enemies' ankles so that someone stronger than her could finish them off.

Every construction worker on the bridge, Tazuna included, could not believe what it was they were seeing. Five kids were making Gato's men look stupid (not that they needed help). Tsunami, who had arrived with Inari and some backup, could only watch with interest as the five of them had coordinated everything so well, and on that note she was torn; on the one hand, she felt bad that such a loss of life was necessary (even if the men were all thugs), and on the other, she felt that hope would soon return to their village. Inari on the other hand was mesmerized by the sight. Not just because the boy that had inspired him to be a man was fighting, but because he was fighting alongside four beautiful girls whose attacks flowed together. In his eyes, this battle was the stuff of legends and was proof that heroes do exist, as they were fighting for the sake of the village he lived in. Sakura, the only shinobi in the crowd, was mesmerized by her mistresses and how they fought in sync with the other girls.

By the time all the other bandits and mercenaries were cut down, all that was left was Gato and Aoi. The criminal businessman had a worried look on his face before he turned to his last bodyguard with worry on his face. "You'd better end that brat like you said, "warned Gato, starting to stutter, "And if you don't, then you won't get your cut of my empire!"

"Relax old man," said Aoi, activating the Raijin no Ken, "With this thing, I've got it all under control!"

"Don't be too sure of that Aoi," said Naruto, sheathing his katana and drawing his zanbatou with one hand and intensifying his killer intent, "I'll make sure that you eat those words by the end of the day." With a roar, Aoi charged in with the Raijin no Ken activated and ready to electrocute the blind genin, only to watch as Naruto effortlessly brought his zanbatou around and slashed upwards to launch him into the air before slashing back downwards—creating a disc of chakra that spun around the foolish shinobi. By the time the technique was done, another glyph had appeared above Naruto's head, and the ninja by the name of Rokusho Aoi had fallen to the ground with his entire body having been filleted into fifteen slices short of the forearm holding the Raijin no Ken, leaving the priceless artifact untouched as it fell from the dead man's fingers. Before long, the silence was disturbed when a sharp 'snap' followed by the clattering of metal hitting the ground was heard. "Damn it!" cursed Naruto, throwing away the handle of the broken zanbatou, "And it was one of my favorite swords too!"

Once he was assured of the man's death, Naruto walked to the bloody pieces of the slain ninja, and felt around to find the Raijin no Ken before picking it up and walking slowly towards Gato, who had finally gotten the picture and had started inching backwards from the deadly boy. He found himself stopping at the edge of the bridge. He turned back to see that the blind monster was only a few feet away, with his katana in one hand and the chakra sword in the other. It was at that moment that Gato did something he never thought he would ever do; he got down on his knees and started to beg. "Please! Spare me! I'll give you anything! Money! Women! Power! Hell, I'll even give you some brand new swords! You name it, and it's yours! Just don't kill me! All I want is some m…" Before he could get another word out, the criminal businessman could only gasp for air as he felt the blade of that katana impale him in the throat before being pulled back out, and the last thing that he felt was the blunt force of a kick sending him over the edge of the bridge and splashing into the water.

"What you want has caused too much pain and suffering," Naruto told the empty space where Gato used to be. Slowly, he turned his head to pinpoint the heavy breathing approaching him. "I wondered when you'd re-enter the fray, Kakashi."

At this point, Naruto placed the Raijin no Ken into his pouch, readied his katana and staring down Kakashi as he let out his deadly killer intent as the girls that were overjoyed at his return stepped back, knowing that this was personal. Even Yūgao stepped back, as she knew that the idiot had had it coming for a long time, and now he was going to be punished for all that he'd done. "Kit, let me fight this battle," Kurama whispered in his ear, "I know you don't feel tired, but Kakashi may be a tall order for you, even if this was easy. And besides, nobody tries to kill my future mate and lives!"

_Not happening, Kura-chan,_ he snapped in his mind, _He seems to be under the delusion that I am you in disguise. If you take over my body, it would only make him think he's right. I won't give him that satisfaction, even before he dies._

After a moment's pause, Kurama smiled from within her host's mind. "You make a very good point, my love. Very well, he's all yours. But remember kit, while Kakashi is weaker compared to you, he is no pushover, at around Zabuza-kun's level with or without that accursed Sharingan of his, so if you can't kill him, I will. Remember what I taught you on how to fight, what GSD-san told you was the key to his style. Remember the line that the both of us told you to remember, and you will have an edge."

A smirk crossed Naruto's features as he tightened his grip on Mizu-hime. "I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." As if the words he uttered were a cue, Kakashi charged in with a second kunai in hand, causing Naruto to dance around the slashes before blocking several strikes from Kakashi and countering with a horizontal slash. The next thing to happen was that Naruto's katana became charged with chakra before he slashed horizontally twice before delivering an upwards cut only to learn that he'd hit a log. Instantly he ducked as his opponent tried to decapitate him from behind. The counter attack was a stab after he spun, only for Kakashi to back away and counter with a low slash and then block a second stab with one of his kunai, only to watch it get sliced in half in the process, before he was forced to back flip away from the blind genin. The next move to happen was for Naruto to charge his katana with what appeared to be Katon chakra; he swung his blade upwards, creating a wall of fire that pushed back his opponent before engulfing him in a large explosion.

"Impressive for a whore," said Kakashi from behind, getting blocked as he attempted to stab his opponent in the back, "One more second and I would've been barbecued. That would've surprised me if I hadn't seen it before."

"If you keep up with those 'whore' and 'bitch' comments, then I'll have to think you're playing for the other team. Oh no wait, I have sources that told me that you already do! What's the name of the man you're seeing by the way?"

"It's not going to work, you slut! I know your strategy, to taunt your opponents into screwing up! Mizuki may have fallen for that trick, but I won't!"

Upon hearing of Kakashi's declaration, Naruto's grin of amusement had turned into a frown. "Well then, I guess I'll have to take this up a notch…" Sheathing Mizu-hime, Naruto placed his hands together to perform Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and created hundreds of clones surrounding Kakashi. It was at this moment that the one-eyed jōnin felt the sensation of being strangled in an even tighter grip, as if all the clones were focusing the power of their killer intent to strangle him to death faster. Before long, a ring of the shadow clones hand leaped into the air, and then shifted their weight downward in an attempt to stab Kakashi from above—and it looked like there was no escape when the clones that stayed on the ground charged their katana, and fired a blast of pure energy at Kakashi, dispelling themselves, before the original merged the five glyphs above his head onto his katana to fire a sphere of chakra, grinding away at the one-eyed jōnin to finish the job as it exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto walked closer and closer to where he sensed the body of Kakashi. Did he do it? His question was answered when he found himself blocking a kunai swing from behind with Mizu-hime and then slashing behind him only to be stabbed in his side, and then hearing the sound of sandals skidding atop the pavement. "Mother fucker…" Naruto muttered to himself after coughing up another gout of blood, feeling the effects of the poison taking effect again. If he could have seen Kakashi now, he would have been satisfied at the results: multiple puncture wounds, a torn flak jacket and shirt that exposed his wounded chest, a broken hitai-ate, blood seeping through his mask, and an unknown number of broken ribs and burns.

"What's the matter, bitch? Is that all you can do? Or is it the fact that I'm using a stronger poison than last time?" he asked painfully, but with glee, "I guess kunoichi are inferior to shinobi after all. As a matter of fact, women should know that their place in the world is to serve men for all eternity and to give them their children!"

While all the women present on the bridge were offended by this, Naruto could only growl at the one-eyed jōnin after another bloody cough. "You know, you've been making a lot of aspersions to the female gender for quite some time now. Now, I might be a _male_, but let me tell you; I'm getting re-eal sick of it!" It was then that Naruto sheathed Mizu-hime and pulled the hitae-ate from his eyes before reaching for the cuff around his left wrist, pressing a pair of buttons on the rim to open the metal band with a snap and a hiss as it fell to the ground. The next thing to follow was the metal band that was around his upper arm, and it too fell to the ground with a snap and a hiss—as if it were held together by a pressurized seal. Naruto's knees buckled with pain while he gripped his chest. As he groaned in pain, everyone could notice that the redness in his arm was spreading to his chest while his hair faded to a snowy white while lengthening. The shinobi in the area watched as his form started transforming from masculine to feminine, and it wasn't long until his entire body was covered in reddish skin.

Once he stood back up, everyone saw that in his place was a tall woman with pointy ears and a muscular body type that complimented her generous bust. Her features were soft and delicate, and yet you knew by animal instinct that this was not a dainty woman, but a feral and sensual Amazon ready to kick your ass at the slightest provocation. It also didn't help her exotic appearance that she had claret eyes that both terrified and excited those who looked into them, sharp fangs that replaced the normal human canines, and that her hands and sandaled feet now had sharp claws at each digit. She then let out a yawn, as if she had just awakened from a deep sleep, before stretching herself with loud and satisfying cracks that elicited a lot of bloody noses from the men as they were seeing the savage woman's very-much exposed cleavage with each position and listening to what passed for sexual noises after each stretch.

By the time she was done stretching and relocating her neck, she had let out a sigh of pleasure. "That felt good," she said with relief, before turning her attention to Kakashi as her pleasured look darkened. She grinned evilly at him, exposing her needle-sharp fangs. "Now then, what was that you said about women? Ah yes! You said that it was our place to 'serve men for all eternity and to give them their children', am I right?"

"So what?" asked Kakashi, sneering under his mask, "That's all women are good for! And I'm going to prove to you that a man will always be better than any woman!"

This was not enough to drop Kurama's grin, but it was enough to anger her. Her eyes started to glow a vile and furious red. "Now that I cannot abide. You once said you loved Kushi-chan like a mother, yet you just insulted a woman I loved with all my heart. I guess I should teach stupid, sexist assholes like you a lesson." It was at this point that Kurama reached both hands out to her sides, blood gathered in her hands from all the corpses and the ground, coalescing into the form of a pair of tsurugi-pattern longswords. "However, you're so stupid that a lesson probably won't stick. So I'm just going to kill you."

With that said, Kakashi could not respond fast enough to stop a cut aimed at him at his abdomen, followed by a horizontal cut at his back and then another one across the back of his shoulders to strip him of his flak jacket and make him bleed even more. Before he could counterattack, he then watched as the two swords were merged together to form an even larger sword while Kurama stabbed him in the stomach with it and then kicking him away as he exploded in a bloody mess. Once she was assured that the sexist pig was dead, Kurama went to pick up Naruto's hitai-ate and his shackles before walking towards Inari, who was blushing at both the woman's graceful savagery and the fact that she was topless under her vest. "Inari-kun," she said, while kneeling down before him, "remember what Naruto-kun said about crying and remember to be brave; if not for yourself, then for your father and everyone else that needs you. Can you do that?"

With a smile and a nod from the little boy, she then turned her attention to Tazuna with a sincere smile on her face. "Next time I see you, you'd better have gone easy on that sake, old man, and on that novel hidden under your floorboards." At that, Tazuna turned red with embarrassment as he watched the hot-looking demon woman walk away, practically shaking her fine ass at him with every step under those shorts of hers, before his daughter slapped him back into reality.

When she reached the other Konoha-nin, she said nonchalantly, "When Naruto-kun wakes back up, can I count on the five of you to have a word with him for me? I think he owes some of you an explanation."

"I was already thinking about it," said Yūgao, "But either way, I think I've got you covered."

"Very good," she said, before turning her attention to the kunoichi genin watching as she tied the hitai-ate over her head, "and by the way, do the four of you remember our fake ANBU friend with Zabuza?"

"What're you getting at, Kyūbi?" asked Kikyo suspiciously.

Kurama grimaced at being referred to by her title before her smile had turned mischievous again. Now this was the smile Meilan knew all too well, and was apprehensive about the other woman's next words. "Oh nothing," she said nonchalantly, "it's just that you girls are going to have to work harder to get that first kiss you all wanted from Naruto-kun, because she has a head start over you: from giving him an innocent peck on the cheek."

The reaction was immediate; their jaws had hung in shock. All Kurama did was let out one more laugh before she clamped the larger shackle over her left bicep and then covering her eyes with the hitai-ate. "Goodnight, everyone!" she said with a yawn, before falling to her knees asleep while transforming back into Naruto. It was here that Yūgao and the other girls, minus Meilan, resolved that an explanation was in order as soon as they got back to Konoha, but for now, the four kunoichi would allow the boy they loved to sleep in peace.

…

**A/N: I suspect that this is my longest chapter yet…I hope that how I killed Kakashi was fitting for how he treated Naruto in the past in this canon…either way, I hope to get more reviews during the Chūnin Exams and that I can decide whether I should gender-bend Gaara and add her to the harem by then. Credit goes to TrixBella and NorthSouthGorem for being my beta-readers/editors.**

…

**Updated Character Classes:**

**All Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clan members: all Slayers (Madara, GSD, or Jiraiya will explain why that is so before or when I get to Shippuden, although several people will already know by now)**

**Aoi: Blade Master (Lightsaber)**

**Killer Bee: Blade Master (Short Swords)**

**Suigetsu: Blade Master (Zanbatou)**

…

**Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:**

**Murderous Wave: Asura—Naruto facing off with Kakashi**

**Wave Radiation: Asura—knocking back Kakashi, and knocking back bandits**

**Wave Manifestation Brand: Asura—Naruto before fighting Gato's thugs**

**Ankle Cut: Universal Thief—Tsukiko crippling the enemies**

**Wave Wheel Slasher: Universal Slayer—Naruto kills Aoi**

**Moonlight Slash: Universal Slayer—Naruto's first attack vs. Kakashi**

**Fire Wave Sword: Asura—Naruto's fireball**

**Ashe Fork: Universal Slayer—First ring of clones**

**Neutral Wave Sword: Universal Slayer—grounded clones**

**Frenzy: Berserker—Kurama gets angry and makes 2 blood swords**

**Blood Sword: Berserker—Kurama's finishing move**

…

**Songs Used:**

"**Dragon Boy" by Joe Hisaishi from "Spirited Away"—Hiten takes Onimaru away**

"**Samurai Struck" by Surf Coasters from "Musashiden 2"—Battle of the Bridge**

"**Till I Collapse" by Eminem from "Real Steel"—Naruto vs Kakashi commences**

"**Devils Never Cry" by David Baker and Shawn McPherson from "Devil May Cry 3"—Naruto transforms into Kurama and then Kurama vs. Kakashi**

…

**Vocabulary/Culture Notes:**

**Cho-Han: Full-name is Cho-Han Bakuchi. This is a pretty easy gambling game in Japan; a dealer sits in front of the players shirtless, and rolls a pair of dice in a bamboo cup. The players have to call whether the roll was odd or even. Sometimes the dealer is also the house, and so they collect the lost bets.**

**Fukaamigasa—this is a basket worn like a hat that either covers the upper half, two-thirds, or the entire head with thin holes for viewing the world beyond. These are typically worn by Komuso monks of the Fuke Buddhist sect as a way of keeping the monk away from worldly desires and focusing on the path to Nirvana. Ironically, these hats are also worn by ronin samurai as they disguise the wearer's identity.**

**Ninjato—this is the regular sword for a ninja; there are claims that this sword is not as good as a standard-issue katana.**

**Onimaru—this is the name of Mikoto's sword, it just means "Ghost" or "Demon", but "Ogre" is much more fitting.**

**Muramasa—this is the name of a swordsmith with as much renown as Masamune, especially given that he was his student. Like his teacher, Muramasa's name that is affiliated with katana and has appeared in practically all of the "Final Fantasy" games. The difference is that while Masamune katana are affiliated with holy power, Muramasa's katana tend to be evil, demonic, and bloodthirsty blades.**


	20. NOT A CHAPTER: Trailer

_**A/N: This is the first time I am using a chapter to preview a chapter that will be seen in the future; I know it's short, but think of it like a trailer of sorts. Do read and review would you kindly?**_

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><p>[Somewhere in Haru no Kuni, unknown time…]<p>

Snow was a rarer thing to see in the land of Haru no Kuni after the events that took place long ago, happening as it was normally supposed to in times of winter. But this night was a perfectly beautiful night for it to be coming; where children would be at home with their parents, eating warm dinners and listening to stories by the fireside. One particular child on the other hand sat on her knees watching outside the window of her bedroom as every little snowflake fell to her windowsill, as well as covering her back yard. Her height had suggested that she was around four years old, but one could tell that she would grow up to be quite a looker in later years with her sun-kissed hair and sandy blue eyes that mixed in with a very vulpine look about her—as if she were a fox disguising itself as a stunningly beautiful woman like in the fairytales.

"Harumi, it's time for bed!" called out the voice of the girl's mother from the doorway. Even though the woman had black hair, she shared the little girl's sand-blue eyes and near-translucent skin tone. Even though she had a warm aura about her, one could tell that this woman had an air of authority about her, this regal aura that belied her motherly smile.

"Mommy, can you tell me a story?"

"Why sure princess," said the woman with true mirth in her eyes that did not detract from her regal appearance, "in fact, why don't I tuck you in first so that I can get ready to tell you?"

Harumi bounced around happily on her bed before getting off of it, and into her blankets as her mother walked in and tucked her beloved daughter in. "Now what story shall I tell you tonight?" asked the regal-looking woman, in a gesture made as if thinking of what story to tell the energetic little girl.

"Ooh! Ooh! Tell me the one about 'The Knight of the Snow and Princess Snow Flower'!"

Ah! Now that tale she knew well! It was the most popular story told in the wintertime to children around Harumi's age. In fact, it was a story still told to teenaged tourists to the country whenever they would appear—especially the female ones. Everybody in the village had their own version of how the story went, but this woman in particular was the only one in town that knew how to tell it right. "Okay then, here we go: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Kazahana Koyuki who grew up as an actress…"

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><p><em><strong>AN: That's what I've got so far for the future chapter. Tell me what you think, and I'll see what I can do for when I get to it, would you kindly?**_

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><p><em><strong>Song Used:<strong>_

_**"Sakura's Theme" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Harumi gets to bed.**_


	21. Blood and Sand

**_A/N: And now we transition from Nami no Kuni to the Chunin Exams. I wonder how things will go. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Nami no Kuni Bridge, one week later…]

It took one week, but the Nami no Kuni bridge was finally completed. After Gato's death, the money he had stolen from the residents of the village was eventually returned to the townspeople, sans the 600 thousand ryo used to pay Zabuza and his accomplice to leave peacefully. After that, the only remains of the criminal businessman's empire were a few small casinos and the brothels he bought. People rejoiced at his demise as they all took back that which was stolen from them, and they too themselves to never again find themselves in such a situation. The shinobi who were hired to protect Tazuna were heralded as heroes to the village, except for Sakura as she had not truly done much; but that was okay for her as long as her 'mistresses' were recognized for their deeds.

As for the kunoichi of Teams Seven and Eleven, they received their explanation from Naruto the second they all saw that he was feeling better. The blind genin told the girls and Tazuna and his family behind a privacy jutsu of his circumstances in the village; how people mistreated and nearly killed him in various ways all because Kyūbi, now identified to them all as Kurama, was sealed into him. They were also told of how she was forced to inflict the Curse of Kazan upon him in order to save his life after his left arm was severed at the shoulder. Most were shocked to learn that he had gone so long with such a heavy burden laid on his shoulders (or his arm, for that matter). The only members of the group not shocked or visibly affected as to his treatment were Yūgao and Meilan, since the former had witnessed it for herself quite a few times (while stepping in just as often), while the latter was busy healing all the scars inflicted upon him by the villagers by giving him all the love she could muster.

The civilians in the room on the other hand had varying reactions. Tazuna felt sick to his stomach because a boy had to grow up so quickly by the time he was taken out of his village to learn to defend himself, while Tsunami wept at the fact that such an injustice was done all because he was chosen to save the village from the mind-controlled demon woman. Inari's reaction on the other hand, was the most visible as he now understood the full extent of his new hero's suffering, as he felt the worst about his actions that led to Naruto's tirade against him nights ago. This didn't change the fact that he now knew that heroes existed, it just served to remind him in the future that sometimes the people who have it the worst in life are in fact the heroes. Feeling inspired to better himself from Naruto's example, the younger boy resolved to forever protect people that needed him.

When the bridge was completed, a festival was held the very second the last inch of cement had dried and hardened, and the people celebrated their newfound freedom on it. They swore to never again fall prey to monsters like Gato, and so the celebration was also to commemorate the formation of the village's police precinct consisting of volunteers inspired by the heroics from the battle of last week with both a rudimentary level of skill in fighting, and a heart of gold to ensure the right thing is done. Sadly however, the heroes who helped inspire the villagers to better themselves could not stay for the festivities.

"Are you sure you can't stay?" asked a crestfallen Tazuna.

"We've got to report back to the Hokage," said Yūgao, wishing she could join in, "We have to be back on time. Otherwise, he'll think something is wrong and will send a search party for us to make sure we haven't gone rogue."

The old man knew she had a point—people would ask questions as to why they had disappeared and where to. "Well then, I can't really fault you there. Remember though, all of you will always be welcome here. And Naruto, if it gets to the point where it is unbearable in that shithole of a village you live in, you can move in with us."

"Thanks for the offer old man," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head with his red arm, "But for now I think I can take care of myself. If anybody I care about comes to harm, then I'll hunt down the offender and punish them in a gruesome manner."

At that, Tazuna could only grunt of amusement at that. "If that woman is sealed in your arm, then I'm pretty sure it'll be more than brutal. Take care of yourselves!"

With one last wave, the seven shinobi left the completed bridge. The pitter-patter of small feet broke the silence that followed. Tazuna looked downward to see the panting form of a little girl with brown hair and blue eyes standing next to him. "Ageha, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for the blind boy that gave me money," she said, "I had something for him."

"I'm sorry kid, but he just left."

The little girl known as Ageha looked to Tazuna with what passed as shock on her face. It was at this moment that the older man took note of what he saw her carrying in her tiny little arms: it appeared to be a small sword that was wrapped entirely in bandages. "Oh no!"

"What is it?"

Before long, the little girl started running as fast as her little feet could take her until she tripped. Tazuna managed to catch her before she could fall on the tip of the blade. "You okay kid?" As if on cue, he heard sharp intakes of breath coming from Ageha, before noticing the tears on the ground. "I couldn't get this to him…the blind boy…" she said in between sobs, "I heard that one of his swords broke, so I went to Gato's place to get a sword that meant so much to daddy…I really wanted to pay him back for helping me…"

It was then that Tazuna understood why she was carrying a sword in the first place. With a sigh, the old man pulled her into a hug in an attempt to alleviate her sobs. Ageha's father had succumbed to his tuberculosis a day after Tazuna left, and her mother was forced to work in one of Gato's brothels for below minimum wage. The only possession she carried was a sword that her husband had from when he was a ronin, before he was struck down by the bloody coughs of the consumption. "Don't worry kid, you'll get a chance to pay him back," he said, while stroking her back, "but for now, celebrate. Enjoy the life he's given back to you, and pay him back when you see him again."

"Tazuna," said one of the construction workers, "since this bridge was your idea, maybe we should name it."

Once he heard that, Tazuna had come to thinking. What was he going to name this bridge? And then he thought of those five ninja-kids and how unbeatable they were together. "I think we should call it the Bridge of Five Elements."

"Five Elements?"

"Yeah, because alone, each of them was tough enough, but together, they were unstoppable. They will be a symbol of what can be done if we are united in cause and in spirit."

At that, the people at the bridge nodded in agreement and at the truth in Tazuna's words. As they began with the festivities, they swore that they would never again let another Gato run their lives ever again, and those five kids gave them the inspiration to stand united!

…

[Naruto's mindscape…]

The darkness of Naruto's mindscape had long since been fixed when GSD and Meilan had come into the boy's life without him knowing it. The floorboards and walls were made of lacquered cherry wood, and the beams were made of lacquered maple wood. Such was the quality and beauty of the architecture that one would not suspect that this house was where a demon lived. One would also not suspect that the house was in fact a villa that was part of an estate built with the lavish tastes of said demon in mind…not to mention she that she now had a brighter place to live in where she could walk around wearing anything she liked, even her own birthday suit, which was what she was currently walking around in at this point.

As she hummed a merry tune through the halls of the villa, Kurama's generous bust bounced with each step down the hallway. Before long, she stopped at her destination. She slid the shoji door open and walked into a room lined with various shelves full of scrolls. At the opposite end of the room was a set of four glass boxes, each labeled with a single kanji written on a scroll hanging above each box. The box with the word 'wave' written over it was the only glass box that was empty, while the boxes labeled 'soul', 'sword', and 'blood' each contained a large scroll within. It was here that Kurama stopped as she looked at each of the boxes with glee, as if she were a child that were in a candy store that could not decide which one to buy—and then she settled her gaze on the box that was labeled 'soul' before lifting the cover and taking the large scroll from its containment.

"I think it time to teach a dog some new tricks," she said to herself, "relatively speaking of course." And indeed it was time for Naruto to learn something new—while GSD had done an excellent job of teaching Naruto the intricacies of being an Asura, she felt it time to teach the kit a new style. And besides, she felt that if he were going to learn a technique to get him places faster, she may as well teach him something that wasn't bastardized…which was what Hiraishin no Jutsu was: a cheap imitation of the Ghost Step technique! Now don't get her wrong, she loved Minato-kun every bit as much as she did Kushi-chan, but she really didn't like it when the brat decided to use those ridiculous-looking kunai to try and perform a technique she was rather good at, and all just to say he could do the same technique! Although to be fair, the brat was inspired by the techniques she taught to dear, sweet Kushi-chan, whom he looked to for inspiration. That and the jutsu was not as versatile as the original technique.

"Do you really think it'll be enough?" asked a gravelly voice, darkening her cheerful mood into a sharp-toothed sneer of anger as the speaker seemed to mock her, "Do you really think that he'll be ready to face me if you get him to sign it?"

"That is not for you to decide," she said with venom in her voice, knowing who that disembodied voice belonged to, "he'll defeat you when the time comes."

"Oh, but you forget Kurama, that the closest anybody has ever come to fighting one of the Avatars of Kazan and winning was GSD…and while he was able to fight his avatar on an even footing from learning all the techniques, he was still not able to gain his sight back because his match ended in a draw."

"I forget nothing!" she barked, with every bit of the defiance in her voice sincere as she stood up suddenly, and her conviction was evident in every word she used, "I have faith that Naruto-kun will beat the avatar that you've put in him just like everyone else afflicted with your curse! I'll see to it that when the time comes, it will be Naruto that walks out of that arena alive! Just you wait, daddy-dearest! He will break your curse and attain enlightenment from his victory! And when he does, he will be free of the blindness that all Asura have to endure! Just you wait!"

After a moment of tense silence, the voice of the Jūbi laughed once more. "We'll see, my beautiful daughter…we'll see." The presence vanished.

…

[Konohagakure Council Chambers, five days later…]

It had been two days since Teams Seven and Eleven had returned from their mission in Nami no Kuni, and Naruto had already been called to the council…much to his annoyance as he was dragged away against his will during dinner at Music Night in Chouza's bar with Meilan. It appeared that while they were out, Chouza had hired a pair of musicians around their age to operate a DJ table that the Akimichi clan head had recently purchased, and the female duo played that station beautifully and with such magnificent speed and teamwork—almost as if the two of them were Hyūga members. As they were enjoying the music, and just as Naruto was about to take his first bite out of his unajyu, a couple of ANBU (judging by the chakra levels he sensed) had snatched him away and dragged him off by his shoulders at high speeds with a Shunshin no Jutsu.

When he felt the hands releasing him, Naruto began to scan his surroundings—lots of murmurs being echoed about, pompous voices being heard, grumblings from familiar voices such as Inuzuka Tsume and Akimichi Chouza as well as a few new ones to him that it was a waste of time, oh he had a good idea as to where he was. "Uzumaki Naruto," called out the nasally voice of what appeared to be a fat man, "you are hereby called to the Council Chambers on the accounts of murder, sexual harassment, and threatening a waiter with a deadly weapon. How do you plead?"

Yep, this was going to be a short night if Naruto had any say in it. "I'd like for you to explain yourself, sir," he said, crossing his arms to hide his frustration, "Because I was under the assumption that this was urgent enough for you to be disturbing me at this hour."

"Shut your mouth, demon!" said the fat council member, who was obviously a civilian, "We of the Council do not need to answer to you, now plead guilty already so that we can execute you!"

"You are being charged with the murder of Hatake Kakashi, sexual harassment against Uchiha Sasuke's sister and various other girls of the clan heads, and threatening one Okuwa Ginta with a sword," sighed Utatane Koharu, with a tone of reluctance in her voice, "how do you plead?"

Naruto placed his red hand under his chin, and started to think. "Let's see now," he said, recounting the charges in his head, "Hatake had tried to kill me twice in the mission, so I was actually killing a traitor. In self-defense, no less. The sexual harassment charge is nothing but lies, because I am a friend of those girls, and that man you called Ginta already broke a rule in Chouza-sama's restaurant that said 'no discrimination against customers,' so that was all his fault. All in all, I plead not guilty."

"LIES!" screamed a woman's voice, belonging to a woman with pink hair, "We know you killed Hatake on that mission, and we also know that he had given you motive for a revenge killing!"

"You've seduced our daughters long enough Demon!"

"Monster!"

"Bastard!"

"Inbred scum!"

"Kyūbi-Brat!"

"Your girlfriend should be tied down and gang-raped by every man in the village!"

At that, Naruto started gritting his teeth at every insult aimed at him. This was getting too noisy! And added to the fact that he didn't even get to eat his dinner was really putting him in a foul mood. He clenched his right hand in rage and let his killing intent wash over the entire Council Chambers, making sure that the yelling was silenced as members of the Civilian Council started suffering from what appeared to be the effects of strangulation. "Alright, I've had just about enough of you," he bit out, with as much anger and irritation as he could put into his words, before turning his head to pinpoint the source of a burning tobacco smell that belonged to the Third Hokage, "I _just_ came back from a very stressful mission. I've had to kill a great deal of people, Kakashi included. And then, just as I come back, I get dragged out here for what has to be the worst trial in history_before I can eat my fucking dinner_! By the way, Hokage-sama, I have picked up at least half the people here breaking your law by calling me a 'Demon-child.' Permission to retaliate?"

At this, the members of the Civilian Council looked to the Hokage and the elders with hope in their eyes that their lives would be spared, that they would walk out of this with a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately, their prayers were not answered. They saw only a man who was beyond angry.

It was then that they knew they were all fucked.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I give you permission to execute those who have broken my law," he said, finally, "Kill them all with distinction!"

At that, Naruto's angered frown had stretched into a dark smile. "Yes sir." Naruto took a few seconds first to determine how many convicts there were. Then he flipped over the table in front of him, grabbed a leg, and ripped it off before tossing it in the air to test out its weight and balance. "Too light for a tetsubo, but whatever." Tucking the table leg under his arm, Naruto formed the seal for Kage Bunshin. He dashed towards the Civilian half of the council with his army of a hundred clones and began his rampage of revenge. His first target was the fat member who had first spoken and ripped out his eyes. He didn't scream for long as he then felt a pair of feet on his shoulders and hands that ripped his head off.

Before long, the entire Shinobi side of the council watched as its civilian counterpart was covered in blood and Kage Bunshins. Some members of the council had their eyes gouged out and then left screaming as they bled to death. Others were beaten to death, sometimes with the table leg, sometimes with Naruto's fists, and some of them with somebody else's spine being used as a whip. Everyone knew to run, but they were all paralyzed by the killing intent, and even those who weren't couldn't get out fast enough.

By the end of the bloodbath, Naruto was panting and practically covered in blood that was not his own, in one hand was the broken and bloodstained table leg, and in the other was somebody's spine. The side with the Civilian Council, however, was in much worse shape: some bodies had exploded, others of them decapitated, but all of them were dead in one form or another. He had just a few more to kill before he was done tonight, and he just so happened to be nearby.

The pink-haired banshee trembled as Naruto dropped the leg and spine and hopped up to where she and a fat man sat. The man's head was seized in a vice-grip by Naruto's crimson arm. "The only reason you live is because you didn't break the law," he growled at her, "So, most unfortunately, I can't do anything to you except this." With a jerk, he crushed the man's skull single-handedly, drenching his fist with blood, bone, and brain. "You fuck with me again and this'll be you. Got me?"

Haruno Sakuya nodded in fear; she didn't want this little monster to kill her after all.

Naruto smiled. "Good! Now if that will be all, I've got to get cleaned up and then head back to Chouza-sama's bar to enjoy my dinner." With that said, he left the premises after sending out a pulse of chakra.

Tsume was the one who broke the silence. "If that's what Naruto-kun has in his repertoire of jutsu, I'd hate to see what else he can do to anyone that really makes him mad."

"I think we already did," muttered Inoichi, "We just haven't seen him at his worst."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," said Chouza, trying to get his wind, "I've seen brutal, and I've known that those assholes have had it coming a long time, but this is a whole different ball-game. I suppose that is why you don't want to be on the business end of Naruto's anger." It was quite redundant to say at this point. Some people had had their hearts ripped out and then forcefully shoved down their throats, others were stabbed directly in the stomach with a pen and then left alone in such a manner that the hydrochloric acid leaked out and dissolved their organs slowly, others still had been killed simply because one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin had ripped off their limbs and then beat them to death with it in a violent and bloody fashion.

"Troublesome as this is," began Nara Shikaku, "he actually did us a favor in spite of all that just happened. I am only thankful that my wife is not here to see this. She'd probably take pointers from this on how to beat the shit out of me."

Aburame Shibi glanced at him. "I would not joke about such things," he said, "Besides that, now that the majority of the Civilian Council is dead, they will be forced to elect new officials into the seats. Hopefully, they will not be as stupid."

"One can only hope," agreed Mikoto, almost looking sick to her stomach, "I'd hate to see how Naruto kills them."

Haruno Sakuya however, had this to say about her predicament: "I think I just came…again."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

…

[Meanwhile, Danzo's ROOT base…]

He was known for many things; being a monster, being power-hungry, even being an opportunist. But Danzo had a softer side that many did not know about…and it showed when he studied a wall scroll made from a very famous painter of sparrows on a black pine branch. Upon detecting the chakra signature of a certain person, the old man knew that it was time to get to work. "You do realize that you need not use stealth around me, do you not?" he asked, half in irritation, and half in joy, "there's not much a point to it anyway, as I'll most likely be the only other person other than Uzumaki that can detect you."

"But then again, it keeps up my training in the art of stealth," said Kikyo, walking out from the shadows, "You yourself have been telling me to stay on my toes."

"So I have. What have you to report?"

As she spoke, Kikyo let out a sigh. "The Kyūbi no Yoko is actually a female. Uzumaki Naruto also seems to be able to release her from her seal, as she was the one who ended up killing Hatake Kakashi."

Danzo merely nodded, not even bothering to be shocked by the revelation of the Bijū's gender. "I thought that foolish man would snap eventually. I was just unsure as to how soon. But what about the Kyūbi?"

"I do not think you need to worry about her," continued Kikyo, "From what I've been able to ascertain from Naruto's explanation to myself and the Uchiha twins, she cares about him. As long as Naruto comes to no harm, we need not worry about her being a threat. However I have a feeling that both she and the Baihe girl will be screening all potential candidates for when the CRA is invoked upon him, which will make it harder for me to have his children if I am not up to their standards."

"I see," mused Danzo, "you know what to do. Do everything you can to meet their standards in order to guarantee yourself a seat in the Uzumaki boy's harem. As much as I want that weapon under my control, I want to see my many great-grandchildren running about."

Kikyo merely nodded. "Hai, Danzo-sama." Though privately, she felt a slight prickle of irritation at hearing Naruto called a weapon.

…

[Higurashi Arsenal, next day…]

The sounds of a blacksmith's hammer working on metal filled the background while Tenten had just returned from bringing a box of five steel ingots to her father. She rather liked the way he worked metal like an artist. Although he got paid more handsomely for his commissions on swords and other weapons, Hiten also made money from making high-quality kitchen knives and cleavers for chefs, mostly to spite Fugaku from beyond the grave. One of his latest clients was an Akimichi head chef who was willing to pay through the nose to get a katana-grade steel blade to replace his broken sashimi knife.

Yes, business was going well today, although she did sort of wish that she could go out and at least do some exercise. "Hey there, Tenten!" called out a voice from the doorway that made her day brighten up just a bit more.

"Hey Naruto! I…" she said, before her train of thought was interrupted when she noted that half of Naruto's weapons were gone, "Where are your short sword and zanbatou?"

"Broken," he grunted, shrugging, "Used too much chakra on 'em."

With a frustrated sigh, Tenten could only nod in disappointment at the mistreatment of his weapons. "Well then it's no surprise your swords broke; a lot of standard-issue ninja weapons are not meant to handle prolonged exposure to chakra! If you keep breaking your weapons this way, don't come crying to me if you have to sell your Masamune to make ends meet!"

Though he was wearing a blindfold, it was easy to tell that his eyes narrowed. "Do you honestly think I'd do that?"

The bun-haired Weapons-Mistress of Konoha reached forward, and tousled the boy's hair lovingly. "Of course not, I'm sorry. Just make sure you're more careful with your weapons next time. I'd hate to hear that you died because they broke in the middle of a fight."

Naruto let out a sigh. "If that happens, I'll just stick to Tai- and Ninjutsu. All the same though, do you have any chakra-reactive swords I can use to replace my Kumo-standard short sword and my Kirigakure zanbatou?"

Tenten lifted her head up in thought. "Well, I don't think we have any zanbatou in stock, but I'm pretty sure we have some chakra-reactive swords. I'll go see what I can find…" As quick as lightning, she left the area to search the store.

"I'll go find those tonfa I wanted," said Meilan, "you think you can wait for me?"

Naruto smiled and gently squeezed her hand. "Take as much time as you need. I'll wait here for you."

The last Baihe giggled, and ran off into the store with an "I'll be quick!" while he started to focus and meditate.

It wasn't long until Tenten had returned with something wrapped in a cloth. "I'm back!" she said, "I don't have much in stock that's chakra-reactive, but this is the only thing I've got."

Naruto took closer steps to the counter, and placed his hand over the package and started focusing chakra pulses over it. His jaw had hung slightly at what he had found. "I'm detecting a sword with a 20 centimeter-long handle with a knuckle guard over it, and a 60 centimeter double-edged blade that reacts well to chakra made from what I assume is tamahagane from Tetsu no Kuni. Judging from what I've managed to scan, it weighs almost…two kilograms. How was my aim?"

To say that Tenten was surprised at Naruto's assessment was an understatement…there were quite a few layers in the cloth before getting to the blade, but her shock was soon replaced with a look that could only come when someone had found an opportunity to take something they wanted. "Very good," she said, after unwrapping it and unsheathing the blade as she got closer to Naruto, "why don't you test it out? I'm sure you'll find that it's well-balanced."

As the blind genin took the sword gently from Tenten's hand, Kurama started to have suspicions as to what was going on. "Kit, I have a feeling that she's going to…" Before she could finish that sentence, she felt the exact same thing as her host at the moment: a hand entwining itself through his left hand, another hand holding the sword by the lower half of the handle and mimicking his practice swings, but this did not evoke as much of a sensation as feeling Tenten's soft breasts squeezing against his back. "…oh yes, kit! Let her practice with you some more! Let her feel the five years of hard work that GSD had drilled into you! Keep practicing until she wants to get her hands on that other 'sword'!"

The moment was interrupted when the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard. The culprit was Meilan with a pair of tonfa in her hands, tapping her foot on the floor rhythmically, and having an 'I caught you' look on her face. "Enjoying yourself, Higurashi-san?" she asked.

Tenten quickly let go of Naruto about as red as a tomato, composing herself. "Is this all you will be buying?"

"For now," said Naruto, "but can you please tell your father that I have an order for a zanbatou?"

"Yeah, I'll tell him," she said, with a sigh that spoke volumes of her desires, "Now, if that's all, the total comes down to four thousand five hundred ryo."

There was an outraged look on Meilan's face upon hearing the price. "Pardon me, but did you just say that this is all forty-five hundred ryo?"

"The 500 ryo is your tonfa because they are made of solid steel, and the craftsmanship is such that they won't break easily—it should be well worth the price. The other 4,000 is for Naruto's sword—normally a short sword like this is worth about 1550 ryo, but because this is made from steel imported from Tetsu no Kuni and is chakra-receptive, you've got a high-quality blade that costs 4,000 ryo."

"It's fine Meilan," he said, pulling out nine 500-ryo bills, "I can always make this money back at any casino we go to."

Meilan laughed. "It's not your capability of earning tons of money from casinos overnight that I doubt; it's just the idea of a casino letting us past its doors willingly after what happened in Saikoro City. Word does travel fast you know, and I don't doubt that they know your face at this point."

"Hey, it worked in Gato's sector!"

"That's because you were unrecognizable! They all thought you were a fake monk!"

After taking the money and watching as the duo left the arsenal with their purchases, Tenten was confused. What did Naruto do in Saikoro City? And then, it hit her like a ton of bricks when she recounted a tale she'd heard. A few years ago, there was an underground gambling community known as Saikoro City that was supposed to have been the second Tanzaku City. The city was sent to the slums in a few nights when all the casinos were bankrupted within a month, and the culprit was supposedly a blind young man accompanied by a girl who went to all the casinos and won every game at every table. And the worst part (for said casinos) was that there was no cheating whatsoever on the part of the boy, as the girl told him of all the results. This boy was known as the legendary "Blind Casino-Killer", and he was said to have a poster on his head posted in all casinos that said to never let him enter. He was even banned from horse races. To think that Naruto held such a title had caused her jaw to drop.

…

[Meanwhile, at Training Ground 3…]

Haruno Sakura was being brutally trained by her mistresses. She'd been going at it since this morning when the two of them brought out whips and demanded that she run twenty laps around the forest without using any chakra, which she did, and wound up more tired than a dog past its prime. As of this moment, they had her wearing weights and doing push-ups, much to her frustration. "Please forgive my insolence, Mistresses," she cried between repetitions, hesitant due to the fact that the two of them had whips in their hands, "But may I ask why it is necessary for you to make me do these exercises?"

"It's simple really," said Satsuki, "if we are going to keep a slave, we want more than just someone who is good in bed,"

"Or for that matter, someone who simply caters to our every whim," continued Tsukiko, grabbing her sister by the hip, "what we are also looking for are bodyguards."

"People who can also act as protectors."

"And in general, we want someone who is well-rounded."

The two of them spoke in unison. "In short, we don't just want you simply to service us in and out of bed; we also want you to protect us. Otherwise, the next slave we decide to break in will be our new favorite because he or she can do all that you can do and more."

"You have really good points there girls," said a voice from above, "although, normally it's easier to get slaves that specialize in one thing than to get well-rounded ones."

The twins and their slave looked up and saw Mikoto, in what appeared to be a Jōnin flak jacket. "Mom!" greeted Tsukiko, "What are you doing here?"

"Are you our new sensei?"

"The Hokage actually did something right for once, and actually came up with good arguments for me to be your team's sensei," answered Mikoto, "I won't bother you on the details, but I will say that it's a good thing he did, because the original Civilian Council was against it…and now that most of them are no longer in their seats, nobody can dispute against me teaching the two of you about your Sharingan eyes proper."

"Uh, Mikoto-sama," said Sakura, "I'd hate to ask, but did my mother survive?"

Mikoto smiled at her daughters' slave. "Don't worry, she did, but now she'll have to be smarter about what comes out of her mouth."

Sakura sighed with relief, she did not want to be an orphan this soon.

"Anyway, I've read the reports, and have heard how the two of you handled yourselves on the Nami no Kuni mission, and I've got to say that I'm impressed," said Mikoto, turning to her daughters, "I'm actually glad that Kakashi is dead. That hypocrite's done enough damage already. So, going back to my point, the two of you have done so well that I've decided to enroll the entire team in this year's Chunin exams!"

The three genin were wide-eyed. "This soon?" asked Tsukiko, "But we've only been genin for a relatively short time!"

"That, and we were teaming up with Team Eleven at the time," continued Satsuki, "Are you sure about this?"

The look of pride on Mikoto's face was unmistakable. "I'm positive."

It was at this moment that Sakura raised her hand. "Sensei, I'm not sure about this. Can I go home and think about this?"

"Since today is my first day as your sensei, I'm giving you all a day off to think about this, "said the Uchiha Matriarch seriously, "but remember, the Chunin Exams are in a few days, and if you don't sign a consent form to take the exam by then, the entire team won't enter."

With that said, Sakura left the training ground to go home and think about her decision. The twins looked to their mother with an inquiring look on their faces. "I'm pretty sure we are ready for these exams…" started Tsukiko.

"…but what about Sakura? Why are you giving her this opportunity?" finished Satsuki.

Mikoto looked to her daughters with a confident look on her face. "While the two of you do have a good point about this, I'm allowing her this chance to join on purpose," she said, as the twins motioned for her to explain herself, "I want her to see what being a ninja is really about, and what it takes for her to be an Uchiha slave in this house. If she survives, I'm expecting that she'll take her training more seriously, but if she doesn't, then I recommend the two of you go out to find a new slave and testing your knowledge on how to break your own."

…

[Streets of Konoha, ten minutes later…]

As Naruto and Meilan walked down the street, the former felt three chakra signatures following them. Now one of them he knew by his tobacco scent, but the other two were new to him. This was interesting now that he thought about it. With a light tug, Meilan knew to stop, but that didn't stop the inquiring look on her face. "The three of you can stop following us now," he finally said, "you may be able to fool other people while hiding under a box, but you can't fool my senses; so why don't you come on out and introduce me to your friends Konohamaru?"

A nearby box had fidgeted upon hearing Naruto's declaration that the jig was up, and it was no surprise: if this were the market district or the restaurant-heavy part of town, then a corrugated cardboard box of canned peaches would not have been out of place, especially near a garbage can—but this was already near the clothes district! With a sigh, the box lifted, and out came Konohamaru and two other children with him in different outfits: Konohamaru was dressed in the same yellow shirt, blue scarf, and beige shorts as last time, but the newest additions to his outfit was a band that went around his eye-line with eye slits, leather bands buckled around his wrist and upper arm, and the shinai slung over his shoulder; his glasses-wearing friend with the runny nose and the bowl cut however, wore an open burgundy vest with a long tail and high collar over a black tank-top, and thistle-colored shorts, carrying what appeared to be a box of fireworks strapped to his back; the only female of the group had orange hair done up in a puffy V-shape, wearing what appeared to be a small black pinstriped jacket, a red blouse, and a black skirt with jagged red trimmings at the bottom, along with what appeared to be a small black stovepipe hat while carrying a 2cm-thick pine dowel at her side.

Konohamaru then faced Naruto with a confident smirk on his face. "It figures you'd find us out this quickly, and that's why I've decided to follow you. Boss, I'd like for you to meet my friends, Udon and Moegi," he said, indicating to the boy and girl respectively, "and we're the Konohamaru Corps."

"Good on you," said Naruto with a smile, "you've already got a team setup ready for you. I may not be able to see, but what I smell should tell me enough of what your team will be like in the future. Don't bother asking—I want it to be a surprise to all three of you as to how this team will work. Until then, do give all the teachers except Iruka and Suzume a hard time for me would you please? I've always wanted to see who can top me in pranking them with the most creative booby traps yet."

A bit of laughter had come out of Meilan upon remembering a prank that was pulled on the faculty of the Ninja Academy while she was attending with Naruto. A plot was enacted in the Teachers' Lounge before classes broke for lunch. As Iruka and Suzume settled down at their part of the room, they found themselves laughing as everyone started disappearing one by one after taking a few bites out of their meals and then fighting over who would use the restrooms first. It was soon found that the culprits tampered with the other teachers' lunches by spiking their bottled drinks and leftover meals with a tasteless and odorless laxative. Nobody did catch the culprits, and even Iruka tried to get the students to talk, but Meilan, Naruto, and Ino all swore each other to secrecy at the fact that they were responsible for that prank in revenge for those teachers punishing the blind genin simply for asking questions and answering other questions correctly.

"Will do Boss!" said Konohamaru walking away with his friends before he bumped into someone. That person was a guy wearing what appeared to be an all-black cat suit and purple markings on his face with something contained in wrappings strapped to his back. On his forehead was a hitai-ate with the crest of Sunagakure no Sato printed on its metal surface.

"Hey, watch where you're going, squirt!" he shouted angrily.

"You watch where you're going!" retorted Konohamaru, "You walked into me!"

The larger boy seized Konohamaru by the front of his shirt and lifted him up. "What the hell did you say?!"

"Kankuro!" called out a feminine voice from behind, "Just put him down! He's not worth it!" The voice belonged to a girl with blonde hair done up in four short ponytails and teal eyes. She wore an oversized off-white shirt that was tied over her hips by a red sash, and underneath was a fishnet mesh. Slung across her back was what appeared to be a giant, metal fan. Around her neck was a hitai-ate that stated that she too was from Sunagakure.

"Shut up, Temari," said the boy now known as Kankuro, "This little brat needs to learn a lesson in manners!" He cocked his fist and was about to smash it into the little boy's face when his punch was caught in what felt like a vice-grip around his wrist.

Meilan twisted his wrist until he dropped the younger boy. "And what lesson would that be, you makeup-wearing freak?" she asked with fury in her eyes, "To bully other kids? Do you honestly have nothing better to do than to pick on those weaker than you? You're pathetic!" Rather than punching him, she changed her grip on his wrist, put her other hand under his elbow, and then drive Kankuro's fist into his own nose.

Stumbling back out of Meilan's reach, Kankuro felt his face and found that he had a bloody nose from practically punching himself. With rage at his humiliation, he reached for the pack at his back and started reaching for one of the bands. "You bitch! Now you've done it!"

"Kankuro, you really sure you want to bring Karasu out in the open like this?" asked Temari, concern crossing her features.

"Hell yeah! This bitch is gonna get it now! You hear that you wh…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kankuro froze when he saw a katana blade threatening his neck. "Now, I know you're new around here, so here's a fairly simple rule," said Naruto with false cheer, which then gave way to grim satisfaction, "Don't insult my girlfriend, or I'll fuck you up. Got it?"

"Y-you and w-what army, asshole?" stuttered the boy in black.

"The army of me, myself, and I," drawled Naruto, "Plus the person in that tree."

At that, Kankuro's eyes had widened, and started swinging his head around to find the person that the blind genin was talking about only to see a sight he really didn't want to see. Short, red, and disheveled hair, black clothes, white sash, and a large gourd slung across the back. The most defining features of this figure were the kanji for 'love' written over the left eye, the Sunagakure hitai-ate tied around the left bicep, and the black rings around cyan eyes. "Kankuro, you're an embarrassment."

The figure performed a Suna Shunshin, and appeared before the boy in the cat suit. "G-G-Gaia," he stuttered in terror, "I was just-"

"Shut up," said the gloomy, red-haired girl, "or else I'll kill you." Doing as he was told, Kankuro immediately shut up and watched as the girl then turned her attention to Naruto. "As for you, what is your name?"

"The name is Uzumaki Naruto," said the blind genin, "Forgive me, but I am curious as to why three ninja from Sunagakure are here."

At that, Temari's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know? You're blind."

Naruto grinned slightly. "While I am unable to see anything, my other senses are extremely sharp, so I can pick up the smell of desert sand on all three of you. That, and you just told me. Now, back to my question, why are you three here?"

The blonde girl in the Suna team was impressed. Her fellow blonde was able to pick up on such small details even without eyes. "If you must know, we're here because of the Chunin Exams being held in your village."

"I see…" said Naruto, understanding the purpose of the Suna ninja, "Well then, I won't hold the three of you back any longer. Just don't make any more trouble while you're here."

Gaia walked closer to Naruto. The silence between them was tense, but it was clear that the red-head was studying him. "I apologize on the behalf of my brother," she finally said with a disturbing grin on her face, ignoring the indignant and outraged look on Kankuro's face, "We shall get going now."

Once it was clear that there was nothing left to be said, Meilan took Naruto by the hand, and led him away, with the Konohamaru Corps in tow. "What's up Gaia?" asked Temari, when she was sure that the five Konoha natives were out of earshot, "Is there something special about him?"

"Mother wants his blood especially," answered Gaia, still grinning madly as the Sand Siblings walked away, "She says he is like me…"

…

**_A/N: With Naruto's rampage, I decided to show what happens when people really test him. To people who are curious as to which element Meilan, Satsuki, Tsukiko, Kikyo, and Naruto are, Here's the list:_**

**_Meilan: Byakko, the White Tiger of Metal_**

**_Satsuki: Suzaku, the Red Bird of Fire_**

**_Tsukiko: Genbu, the Black Tortoise of Water_**

**_Kikyo: Seiryu, the Green Dragon of Wood_**

**_Naruto: Kiiryu, the Yellow Dragon of Earth_**

…

**_Updated Character Classes:_**

**_Satsuki: Blade Master/Berserker/Rogue (with Curse Mark), Blade Master/Rogue/Soul Bender (no Curse Mark)_**

**_Tsukiko: Blade Master/Berserker/Rogue (with Curse Mark), Blade Master/Rogue/Necromancer (no Curse Mark)_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Murderous Wave: Asura—Naruto getting really angry_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

**_"Reset (Thank-You)" by Rei Kondoh from "Okami": Konoha shinobi leaving_**

**_"Kaine: Escape" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier": Kurama's vow_**

**_"Rage of Sparta" by Gerard Morino from "God of War III": Naruto getting angry, then his rampage_**

**_"Nine-tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto": Kikyo sees Danzo_**

**_"Sakura's Theme" by Toshiro Masda from "Naruto": Seeing Tenten_**

**_"Sneak Chamber" by Nujabes from "Samurai Champloo": Confronting the Sand-Siblings_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Consumption—Japanese term for tuberculosis._**

**_Taoist Elements—it recurs in Naruto…the five elements in Taoism are earth, fire, water, wood, and metal, all of which creates balance through creation and destruction. In destruction, earth destroys water, which destroys fire, which destroys metal, which destroys wood, which destroys earth. In creation, water creates wood, which creates fire, which creates earth, which creates metal, which creates water._**

**_Unajyu—barbecued eel served on rice_**

**_Tamahagane—this is the steel used in the creation of a katana, its name literally means 'jewel steel'._**

**_Saikoro—this is Japanese for 'dice'._**


	22. Elves and Snakes

**_A/N: And now we get more serious. I'm sorry if it's a bit quick, but I was a bit anxious to get to the nitty-gritty. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Training Ground 18…]

The sound of the wind rushing through trees was a calming sensation as members of Team Eleven sat around at their meeting place, waiting for their sensei to arrive. As of this moment, Naruto was propped up against a stump, asleep, with Meilan snuggled up under his human arm and Kikyo under his red one (although she was horrified at the thought being caught in such a position).

"Well, isn't this an adorable sight?" asked a feminine voice in amusement, "It's really too bad that the Hokage **_DOESN'T PAY FOR SLACKERS WHO SLEEP DEEPER THAN A NARA MAN!_**" She shouted that last part, startling the three Genin awake. Yūgao laughed to herself as she watched her three students scrambling to stand up at attention. When they were at last paying attention, the Jonin placed her hands behind her back. "Now, I have a news flash for the three of you: ever since I gave my report to the Hokage on the Nami no Kuni mission, he and I agreed that the three of you are ready for the Chūnin exams. Here's the deal," she pulled out three sheets of paper, handing the one with Braille on it to Naruto, "These are consent forms that say that you're going to participate. I'm giving you the day off to make a decision, but don't take too long; the exams will begin in a few days, and if you take too long, you'll have to wait until next year. Got it?"

"Loud and clear," said Naruto, running his fingers over the raised bumps of his form, "But just so we don't waste any time, count me in. Now, may I borrow a pen?"

He quickly got one and looked for the line he was supposed to sign.

"I think it goes without saying that we're all in this together," said Meilan, after reading her own consent form, "Although I wonder if a certain sharpshooter is up to the task."

Kikyo's answer was a defiant snort as she took the pen to sign her consent form. "Whatever balloon-girl, just don't hold me and Naruto-kun back when we get on with these exams."

A 'hmph!' escaped Meilan as she turned away while the three genin returned their forms to Yūgao. "At least I don't hide from my enemies and shoot them from afar!"

The archer girl's head snapped towards her colleague. "Are you calling me a coward, you air-headed brute!?"

At this point, Meilan also snapped her head towards Kikyo in such a manner that the two of them were face-to-face with each other. "Damn right!"

"Stop!" said Naruto forcefully, pushing the two snarling girls away from each other, "These exams mean we're gonna have to fight together, and we can't do that with you two griping at each other. So either apologize to each other, let what the other said go, or be equally to blame for dragging the team down!"

Yugao was shocked at the suddenly harsh tone in Naruto's voice, but nodded all the same at the truth of it. Teamwork was paramount to survival in the first two parts of the Chunin Exams, and the team would need to cooperate. Both Meilan and Kikyo looked stunned at the outburst: Meilan that her boyfriend would actually raise his voice against her, and Kikyo that Naruto would actually (though indirectly) defend her. Both flushed slightly in shame, and nodded.

"Well?"

They both remembered that he couldn't see them and responded verbally. He gave a strained smile. "Good. Sorry for shouting, but the way you two argue all the time was really getting to me, and I wanted you to actually listen. We're good now, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"Hai."

…

[Higurashi Arsenal, two days later…]

After a long day of work, Higurashi Hiten sat down to take a break with Hiko perched on the counter digging into the box filled with fuzzy mice while he enjoyed a mug of coffee from Kaminari no Kuni with a scone. Tenten had a small cup of tea at the table as she sat across from her father with a plate of rice biscuits.

"So, I see that you sold my latest magnum opus," said Hiten, looking at his daughter with a knowing look in his eyes as he bit into his scone, "and at a slightly lower price. Are you looking to bribe Naruto-kun into marrying you sooner with a dowry?"

Tenten almost choked on her tea. "Dad! It's not like that!"

He snorted, still amused and unconvinced. "Oh, and I suppose you helping him to try out the short sword was nothing as well?"

Tenten glared at Hiko with a look that said 'you tattletale!' while the phoenix feigned innocence by looking away. She never trusted that bird to keep her beak shut. "Fine, I admit it! I saw an opportunity, and I took it!"

Hiten sighed, and said nonchalantly, "It's okay with me. Besides…think of it as letting it slide for the two of you doing some matchmaking for me and Mikoto-san."

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise before she turned her gaze back to Hiko. "You told him?!"

"What could I tell him?" asked Hiko, a hint of frustration in her voice, "It was Mikoto-san that let it slip on that date the two of them had! Once he found out, he came to me and threatened to stuff me with birdseed unless I came clean! Not that I'd necessarily mind, but..."

"Enough, both of you!" barked Hiten, silencing the argument here and there, "I-" Before he could finish that sentence, Hiten was interrupted by the bell. "God damn that bell," he growled, stomping his way to the counter, "I'm going to-"

"I wouldn't recommend finishing that sentence," said a bald old man at the counter, "You could very well be driving away potential customers this way."

Hiten's eyes widened. The mustache was enough to tell at who it was, along with the rune-covered red arm, and the fact that the man was obviously blind was a dead giveaway. "GSD-san!" he said, with a bit of glee in his voice, "How may I help you?"

"I have a special order for you," said the blind man, a slight edge of urgency in his tone, "I have a feeling that it will be necessary in the future for a certain apprentice of mine."

"You mean Naruto. What is it?"

"I need you to make an extra set of chains, like what he wears on his left arm," said GSD, in all seriousness.

"I recognized the purpose of it the moment I saw those shackles on his red arm," said Hiten, nodding in agreement, "As a matter of fact, my ancestor Linus had passed down the blueprints for it, as well as the special seals for making one as something of a family heirloom. I just never thought that I'd be the one making limiters in this day and age, what with how few of the Rikudo Sennin's descendants are alive today...and even if they were alive, there is no guarantee that the curse has been awakened in any of them enough to warrant it (with the exception of Naruto of course)."

GSD turned to leave the arsenal. "All the same, I'd like to commission an extra set to be made for him as soon as possible. I saw an omen telling me that he may need it."

Hiten shrugged. "Since I know you don't exactly walk around with money on you, I'll put it on Naruto's tab. With a discount of course, seeing as he's your student and all. Now is there anything else you'd like for me to do?"

"No, that will be all. Just make sure those shackles are ready soon; this omen I speak of may happen during the Chūnin Exams. I can only hope I am wrong and that he does not need them." Having said his piece and placed his order, GSD walked out.

Hiten went to the eating area, taking in everything that the elder had just told him. If what GSD had just suggested to him were accurate, something horrible may happen to Naruto, and he needed to work quickly. He watched his daughter leave to cram some last-minute training in for the exams tomorrow, and he paused briefly as another thought crossed his mind. "Tenten, get me twelve ingots of tamahagane from Tetsu no Kuni, and those limiter seals," he said, freezing her at such an order, "Don't ask me why just yet, just get it as quickly as possible."

Tenten nodded and ran off to get the items. She knew her father must have a good reason for requesting such a thing.

…

[Chūnin Exam Written Test Building, the next day…]

The sounds of argument were present in the floor by the time Team Eleven had arrived. People were yelling at what appeared to be two genin at the door that were blocking their way. "What do you mean we can't enter?!" asked a genin from Amegakure, "What are you, deaf?" said one of the Konoha genin blocking the door, "You're not allowed past this point!"

"Says who mother fucker?!"

The other genin answered by punching the moron over the head. "Says my fist, asshole!"

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh. "Must it be so noisy at this hour?! It's really hurting my ears."

"I hear you," agreed Kikyo, also pained at the sound level.

"You are being ridiculous!" said a familiar voice being noticed in the crowd, "We have a right to be here!"

Lo and behold one Hyūga Neji was arguing with one of the guards. "You have a right to nothing!" said one of the genin, "You're not going past these doors! Not if we have any say in it!"

"Why I ought to…"

"It really amazes me how stupid some people are!" Naruto interrupted, stepping up to the Hyūga, "And I hear that you're the Rookie of the Year from the last class. Where are your brains?"

"Still your tongue peasant!" snapped Neji with venom in his voice, "I will not take such talk from one who is inferior to me!"

"And yet I can sense what your precious Byakugan can't. Someone is using a Genjutsu!"

"What's the genjutsu, genius?" sneered a Suna shinobi.

"The test is being held in room 3-1 right?" asked one of the Uchiha Twins from the back of the crowd.

"If that's the case, then what are we all doing here on the first floor?" finished the male twin.

"Shut up Uchiha! You're both all bark and no bite! Just like your clan!" shouted a random Konoha genin.

The twins both grinned dangerously before turning to face their third team-mate. Sakura understood and placed her hands in the ram seal, shouting out "Kai!" The sign changed from reading '3-1' to '1-3'. Everyone groaned as they realized their stupidity.

Meilan and Kikyo were the only other ones not surprised by this. They smirked, as Naruto had already known it was an illusion and he simply wanted to fool around by making everyone look stupid. Having accomplished said objective, they made for the stairs. As the three of them walked through the crowd, Naruto suddenly stopped and turned his head to pinpoint a scent he never thought he'd smell again. "I really wouldn't do it if I were you," he said, knowing exactly who it was he was speaking to, "I know you're itching to fight the twins, and I applaud you on your eagerness, but we are not samurai, and you're likely to get arrested for even thinking about it. You don't want to make your sensei angry now do you? You'll get your chance soon enough, Lee."

The boy with the bowl cut widened his eyes past reasonable limits as Rock Lee briefly wondered if Naruto was able to read his mind. He sighed and slouched in disappointment as his team also made for the stairs.

…

[Floor 3 outside room 3-1, twelve minutes later…]

The noise had long subsided and calmed down now that everyone was in the right spot. It left a bitter taste in almost everyone's mouth that they were made to look stupid by a blind genin with more swords than he could possibly. "Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!" called out a certain blond Yamanaka clan member, getting closer with her team, "Your teams are signed on too?"

"Hello, Ino. It's nice to…well, at least hear from you again," he said, turning his head to pinpoint the source of the sound and the floral shop scent, "Is Shikamaru still being his lazy self?"

"Troublesome," groaned the pineapple-haired boy, "You blonds are so noisy. Don't you guys have anything better to do than cause trouble for me?"

Naruto shrugged it off, before pinpointing the sound of chips being chomped down upon. "I hear the restaurant has been doing well since our appearance at music night, Choji."

"Yep. We did great!" said the Akimichi member, almost throwing his bag of chips away, "And now, thanks to the funds the two of you got for dad, he's letting the two of you eat for free whenever you perform on music night. We also managed to get a pair of DJ's for the station he bought. Dad said he wanted to attract a younger audience, hence the DJ table. This reminds me, after the Chūnin Exams are over, would the two of you like to participate in a band I'm forming up? I've already got the DJ's Risu and Kago signed up, and Shikamaru's agreed to play the bass and do the male lead, but I haven't figured out a name for the band yet."

"If we survive, then you can count me in Choji," said Meilan, gripping on Naruto's hand, "and I'm pretty sure Naruto needs to get in some practice with those string instruments he plays."

Naruto just grinned. "Now there's a situation where everyone wins."

"I'd really worry about that later," said a voice belonging to a white-haired genin with round spectacles from behind, "The Chūnin exams are no joke. Believe me I've taken these tests enough times to know."

"Thanks for the advice, but ultimately that's not for you to decide whoever you are."

"Too true; just thought I'd help. Oh, forgive my lack of manners, I'm Yakushi Kabuto, a veteran of these exams."

"Yeah? And how many times have you taken these tests?" challenged a voice arriving at the scene. Tsukiko had arrived with her team, and a defiant look on her face.

"Three times to be honest," said Kabuto with a shrug, pulling out a deck of cards with the word 'patience' written on the back, "But those past three times were fruitful. I've managed to get some information on this year's competition and place them in these Ninja Info cards."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then what can you tell us about Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaia?"

Kabuto nodded, unsurprised, and pulled out one card. "Rock Lee...an interesting subject; no skills whatsoever in the art of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but is extremely skilled in Taijutsu. I won't bother you with the details, but he has a lot of missions under his belt, including a few A-rank missions." Once he was done, he then pulled out a second card. "On the other hand Sabaku no Gaia is quite low on her taijutsu, but her Ninjutsu is rather high, while her Genjutsu is unknown, the opposite of Rock Lee in other words. Huh, that's odd, it says she's got quite a few missions under her belt, but she's never suffered even a scratch on any of them."

"That's good and all, but you really need to update those cards of yours," said a voice from behind, and everyone turned to see three strangers. They all had different skin and eye colors, but they all had pointy ears. One of them was female with purple skin with silvery blue eyes and curly black hair that was in a manner similar to one Yūhi Kurenai, and she was wearing what appeared to be a cheongsam, high leggings, and high-heeled sandals with a pair of kukri strapped to her back and resting on top of her buttocks. The other female in the group had a deep bronze skin tone with cream-colored hair and silvery purple eyes; she wore a form-fitting suit of hard leather armor with a zipper down the middle, a pair of loosely tied slacks over it, and carrying a pair of what appeared to be regular combat knives in holsters at her ankles, and a pair of short rods on her back. The only male of the group however had sandy blond hair, slate-colored eyes, and was the tallest of the three with a fair complexion. he wore dark slacks, geta, a buttoned white shirt, and a beige trench coat. He seemed to not be carrying weapons.

Naruto focused his senses, and walked closer to them. "The three of you smell like you're steeped in mana. You wouldn't happen to be elves from New Lorien by any chance would you?"

The only male of the group was surprised, until he noted one crucial detail about the stranger before him, which was the red arm with limiters attached to it. "Yeah, I guess?"

"Because I met one of your people before with my sensei…I think you may know of an elf named Minet?"

At that, the bronze-skinned elf's metallic purple eyes had widened in shock. "You know our master? Then that must mean you're GSD's student."

"I'm flattered," said Naruto, with a friendly smile for the elves, "so I suppose that the elves are ready to make a comeback to the world at large through these exams?"

"Bingo!" said the male elf, "Queen Sharan thought that now was the opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to the world, and so she sent this year's top students as a team to pretty much say 'hi' to the world at large. The name's Len Ferro, I'm working at being the best wizard and iron-worker in her majesty's Mage Corps. With me are Francois, Minet's eventual successor as leader of the Royal Guard," he said, indicating to the bronze-skinned elf who bowed upon hearing mention of her name, "and the antisocial wallflower here is Ayakasia, the current heir to the throne."

"How do you do?" asked the purple-skinned elf politely. Then she did a double-take and glanced at Len. "I'm surprised Len! You actually managed to sound professional for more than a sentence."

"Pshhh," Len waved her off, looking bored.

Before Naruto could say anything, the door opened. The man who entered was a tall and apparently well-built, in a trench coat with a high collar, his hitai-ate worn like a bandana over his head, and his face covered in scars apparently from torture. "The name's Morino Ibiki," said the man, "and I'm the proctor for the first exam. If you'll follow me this way, we'll get this started."

As all the genin entered the room, only one of them took his time to walk in—watching from behind as Naruto and his team passed him by. 'Mizuki was clearly blinded by his hate when he said that Uzumaki was nothing but a worthless fuck toy for Orochimaru-sama,' he thought to himself with a wicked grin forming on his face, 'as a matter of fact, I currently see five potential new bodies if he can get more information on that red arm of his. And besides, I'm very sure that Orochimaru-sama would enjoy the irony of using the boy's body to fight his own sensei; and with his own jutsu no less!'

…

[Meanwhile the Jōnin's Lounge…]

The Jōnin's Lounge was a place that one would expect of a Teacher's Lounge at school. The only difference was that there were racks to hold your weapons and equipment. Yūgao sat next to her lover Hayate with his medicine ready to help make his sickness more bearable, while Kurenai sat next to Asuma in a suggestive pose as Gai wept silently to himself. "What am I going to do now?" he asked, "Now I don't have a hip rival to compete with! Even though Kakashi lost his 'hip factor' after what he did to Naruto, he was still someone I could use as a benchmark! What am I going to do now?!"

"Why don't you just compete with yourself?" asked a lazy female voice with a yawn, drawing everyone's attention to the dark-skinned woman with the pointy ears and bright blue eyes that closed for sleep as she lounged on a fine leather couch, "Now stop making so much noise—you're ruining my nap!"

"Let me guess," said the sickly Jōnin with a cough, as he forced himself to not look at the pointy-eared woman's generous assets lest he face the wrath of his girlfriend, "you're the team commander of that elf team from New Lorien. Your name is Minet right?"

"That's right," said the elf, briefly opening her eye to look at the speaker, "and you must be Gekkō Hayate, one of the proctors of this exam. A pleasure to meet you…now would you mind directing your gaze a little further north? I think your girlfriend wants to hit you."

Upon turning to look at his girlfriend, Hayate saw that Yūgao had her nose up in the air. "I wasn't going to hit you," she said, "but I will deny you your medicine for a bit, unless…"

The look of foreboding was clear on his face as he studied his girlfriend's face. Somehow, he knew that the demand would be unreasonable. "…unless what?"

"Unless you tell me who is proctoring the written exam."

Aha! Now he knew what it was! As much as he would like to tell Yūgao, he was not authorized to tell. Before he could open his mouth, Hayate was interrupted. "It's being proctored by some guy with a lot of scars on his face," said Minet as she lazily yawned, "Wears his forehead protector like a bandana. What was his name? Hibiki? Ibuki? Oh yeah, Ibiki."

Everyone was on edge except for Kurenai. "They let that sadist proctor the written test?" asked Yūgao, dismayed, "Are they insane?"

"They probably are," said Gai, grinning slightly and nervously, "But then, what fun would there be if too many students made it through this soon?"

"Is Ibiki that scary?" asked Kurenai, with a look of confusion on her face. Asuma let out a puff of smoke, flicking off the ashes of his cigarette. "Seeing as you don't know about Ibiki just shows how green you are compared to us," he said nonchalantly, "But I'm pretty sure the best way to identify him is through his place of work…" it was here that the Sarutobi member paused for a few minutes for dramatic effect, "The Torture and Interrogation Department."

…

[Room 3-1, five minutes later…]

If anybody ever wondered why Mitarashi Anko was so sadistic, they need only look at her colleague Morino Ibiki and at the evil grin he was trying so hard to suppress. As he looked at the students, he inwardly smirked and laughed sinisterly to himself at the prospect of scarring so many minds with this test. The questions were quite difficult, and it would be no trouble to weed them out. Only one of them had required a specially-made test due to the fact that he was blind, and so he was appropriately given a stencil, pegboard, and punch to write in Braille—at that, he knew that Uzumaki may be a bit of a challenge. "Okay then, here's how this first test will start," he began, "you will all begin with ten points each. For every right answer, you get one point. For every wrong answer, you lose one point. If you cheat, then you lose two points. We have some Chūnin keeping watch here, and if they catch you cheating, then you and your team are kicked out. If your team has under thirty points between the three of you, then you're kicked out. And don't bother answering the tenth question just yet—if you answer it before I say you can answer it, then you are automatically kicked out. Are we clear? Good, now let's start!"

Naruto immediately began running his fingers over the Braille characters. This was an easy test for him; the moment he pushed his chakra radar out, and he would be able to see everyone's answer. As he scanned over everyone, he noted that some of the genin had high signatures and had no fear of the test—as though they had taken it before. He realized that some of those 'Genin' were in fact Chūnin who were placed among their ranks to provide reliable answers to cheat from, which was in fact the point of this test: to gather intelligence. Then there were the other sources that went beyond the level of a mere Chūnin—for example, Kabuto's levels were masked but was clearly around low- to mid-Jōnin, while another one was greatly suppressed but he could have sworn that it rivaled that of a Kage.

With all other thoughts put out of mind, Naruto placed the pegboard under the sheet, and started to answer on the line below the first question, which he managed to gather from one of the Chūnin. Once he got the answer, he relayed the answer as pulses on the chakra radar in the established code to Meilan and Kikyo. He was immediately distracted when he heard Gaia's trick with blinding everyone else with her sand and then using what appeared to him as a sphere of sand mixed in with chakra. At the same time, he felt the mana pulses of the elves doing the same thing he was…well, at least Len was doing it, because he seemed to be the only one of the group specialized in using mana, thus making him the magic powerhouse of the team.

"N-Naruto-kun." Naruto jumped as Hinata seemingly appeared at his side, speaking in a timid whisper. "If you w-want to copy my answers, then I won't t-tell anyone."

He smiled in gratitude. "I appreciate the sentiment," he said quietly, running his fingers over the question that read 'There are seven major kill zones on the human body, which one would kill the target the fastest if struck? List the area of the body, cause of death, and how much time before the person would die' in Braille, "But I can't read kanji. You just worry about yourself, and I'll see if I can do anything to protect you if I find you again."

Hinata could only blush in a deeper shade of crimson as Naruto quickly punched the answer into the pegboard under his paper. He would protect her? "Thank you..." she whispered, her voice suddenly thick with emotion.

Naruto smiled and patted her on the shoulder after finishing his answer. "I'd have done it anyway. I haven't forgotten…"

"Okay then, all writing implements down!" said Ibiki, suddenly standing up slowly and interrupting Naruto's train of thought, "Now we get to the million-ryo tenth question! And this is the hardest question in the test. You can choose to answer it or not. If you choose to answer it, then you'd better be ready for it…if you choose not to answer it, then you're kicked out of the exam with your team faster than you can say 'tartar sauce'. Now are you ready for that last question?"

Naruto simply grinned with confidence. "I'll take that question!" he said, standing up, "I've come this far, and I sure as hell am not going to back down now!" As he said this, the majority of the genin in the room that remained and were not kicked out stood up as well—the others stayed seated before they were escorted out.

Once he saw the Uzumaki-brat stand up and inspire confidence in the other genin, Ibiki sneered. Oh, now this is actually going to be fun. "Really now?" he asked, taunting the students that stayed, "Because if you get this question wrong, then you and your entire team will be booted off the exams regardless of how many points you've accumulated, and you'll never be allowed in these exams again!" At that, several of the genin stood and were escorted out of the room.

Len stood up, rivaling Ibiki in height. "Bullshit," he said simply, "I don't really know what you normally do," he paused, "Okay, I actually do, but the point that you don't have the authority to say that. There have been a few instances of Genin teams being barred from taking the Exams in the past, yeah, but those were under very extreme circumstances, none of which fit what you're doing now." He looked around and saw everyone staring at him. "Alright, so it's not a rousing speech about determination, whatever!" He sat down as every rolled their eyes

At this point, Ibiki knew he couldn't psyche out everyone anymore; that elf had put too much doubt into everyone's minds. He sighed. "Alright, I guess you caught me" he said, building tension with that pause before he grinned painfully and raised his thumb, "To all those who are still here, YOU PASS!" All of the tension in the room evaporated and everyone face-faulted.

"I don't get it, what was the last question?" asked a bewildered Sakura.

Ibiki grimaced; he didn't like that girl's clan. "There was no last question, the whole point of this test was to observe your intelligence-gathering capabilities, after all, there are lots of missions that involve spying covertly. As shinobi, our main goal is to gain as much accurate Intel on the enemy as possible, and to get caught spying means death.

"The ultimate purpose of the last question is most important however, because it deals with your decision to take up a mission. The survival of your village could depend on whether or not you take up a mission. If, for example, you were to refuse an important mission, someone else might be sent and would botch the operation, which could lead to many more people suffering than if you took it up in the first place. However, someone," here he fixed Len with an evil look, "Decided to botch my plans for that question. I must admit, another important Shinobi trait is the ability to sabotage others."

Len smirked at the grudging compliment.

Before anyone could say anything else about the test, a black ball flew in from the open window and landed on the ground with in explosion of smoke. In the middle of the room was a woman in a beige trench coat, violet hair tied up in a ponytail, mesh shirt and an orange skirt. "The sexy and single Mitarashi Anko, reporting in!" said the woman, inspecting the genin before her and looking at Ibiki with surprise, "Twenty seven teams?! I have to work with this many genin? Seriously, you must be getting in on your years Ibiki!"

"Blame Ferro," grunted Ibiki, "He messed up the whole arrangement for the Tenth question."

"Oh, you and your Tenth question," she scoffed, "Well, whatever. I'll make sure I weed them out some more. All genin with me! We're going to Training Ground 44."

…

[Elsewhere, moments ago…]

Mikoto sat at a table sipping coffee. Something was up if Hiten had set up a meeting at a seedy coffee bar. She didn't have to wait long as she noted her lover walking towards her with a grim look on his face and a suitcase in his hand. His strides had also indicated that he was in a rush…as if some fierce demon were on his heels. "Miko-chan," he said as he quickly placed the suitcase on the tabletop upon sitting down, "I have something important to give you."

Curiosity crossed her face as she found her fingers thumbing the latches. Whatever it was that had Hiten all riled up, and during the Chūnin Exams no less, had to be important. When Mikoto lifted the lid, what she saw baffled her. "Shackles? You brought me out of my assignment over shackles? I didn't think you had it in you!" she said playfully

"Are you aware of the Curse of Kazan?" asked Hiten seriously, eliciting a serious look from his girlfriend.

Mikoto was taken aback at the question. "All Uchiha around Chūnin-level are aware of the Curse of Kazan, and what it does to those that awaken it…the twins on the other hand are an exception because they learned about its existence during their mission. I'm also pretty sure that Tsunade would also be aware of the curse considering that the Senju and Uzumaki clans descended from the Rikudō Sennin, and are thus considered as mere carriers same as us until it is awakened somehow. Why do you ask?" She looked at the shackles in the suitcase, suddenly realizing their significance. "Are those what I think they are?"

With a nod, Hiten held Mikoto's hand firmly before he began. His concern was shown with the grip he had. "GSD came into my shop yesterday. He told me he saw an omen that something horrible may happen to Naruto, and that I should have a set of shackles ready. I had a bad feeling that Naruto may not be alone in this so I made three and asked Tenten carry one set with her to the Chūnin Exams, and now I am telling you that I have the other two for safety's sake. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and that my fears requiring two extra limiters are unfounded."

This troubled Mikoto to no end. She knew that the limiters Slayers wore on their arms, bulky as they tended to be, gave these people a semblance of normalcy, lest they wish to succumb to the seductive and life-shortening bloodlust of the curse. "If that's the case, then I'll hold onto this," she said, closing and locking the suitcase before pulling it towards her by the handle, "if your fears are what I think they are, then it's my responsibility as a mother and a teacher to carry these limiters. I pray that they won't be needed."

As she left the coffee bar, Hiten looked at her leave. "You and me both, love," he murmured.

…

[Training Ground 44, half an hour later…]

"Welcome to Training Ground 44, otherwise known as…" Anko paused for dramatic effect, "…The Forest of Death!" Everyone stared at the gates that contained the fenced-in forest. The whole fence was covered in dire warnings and pleas for help, such that many of the genin in the crowd were contemplating if this was the right place to be taking the test. The silence was broken by Anko as she pulled out a box of papers. "Now before we begin, I want you all to sign these waivers that say we, the people of Konoha are not responsible for any deaths caused in this part of the exam."

A group of Chunin proctors came around, passing out papers to be signed. Once that was over with, Anko placed all the waivers back in the box, but took extra special care with the waiver in Braille and Kanji belonging to Naruto. "Okay then, let's get this thing started! You all have three days to compete this section of the test. Each team will start off a scroll of Earth or a scroll of Heaven and must fight other teams to be in possession of one of each. Now in the middle of this forest, there is a tower. If you're not there by the time three days have elapsed with an Earth and a Heaven scroll in your possession, you will fail."

"What do we do about food and water?" asked Chōji, crunching down on more chips he stuffed into his face, watching as every team received a scroll.

She rolled her eyes. "There are animals that live in the forest, most of which are edible. That, and there's also quite a few plants there that can be eaten, but I wouldn't recommend it. As for water, you're already covered; there's a river that runs through the training ground."

"That doesn't sound too hard," said a voice from the crowd belonging to one Uzumaki Naruto, "in fact, I'm pretty sure me and my team can handle this part of the Exams no problem."

In response, Anko threw a kunai at Naruto, only for the blind genin to tilt his head. The blade just barely grazed his cheek deep enough to draw blood. Before he could tilt his head back, he felt his head being held in place from behind, followed by an arm snaking across his abdominal muscles and resting on his waist, and then a tongue running along his cut to lap up the blood. It was not the licking that caused a reaction so much as the way she was licking him; she was licking him in such a slow and sensual manner that it was as if she were savoring the taste of his blood, much to the jealousy of many of the girls that happened to be nearby. It also didn't help that she was pressing her large, firm breasts against Naruto's back as she licked up his wound like a little kid with a popsicle.

When she was done licking Naruto's wound, Anko let out a relaxed 'ah'—whether it was the 'ah' that came from sexual activity, or the 'ah' that came from being high, nobody knew or cared. This was just about the freakiest (or most perverted according to Meilan and the others) thing they had ever seen. Her voice had become flirtatious at this point. "I tell you, this is the best-tasting blood ever!"

Naruto on the other hand looked as if he were going to be sick in Anko's embrace. "Normally I would've been turned on by what just happened, but this stink is really killing my boner and offending my nose."

She was quick to fire a heated glare at Naruto upon hearing his words, and Anko's seductive voice was given a dangerous edge. "I beg your pardon?"

He was calm, but Naruto was quick to explain himself. "Oh, not you. I meant the creepy person behind you."

As if on cue, a kunai was placed at Anko's throat, gripped by a tongue. Anko turned and glared at the Kusa-nin behind her, whose elongated tongue still held the knife. "Anything you want to say bitch?"

"My apologies," hissed the shinobi, "I merely wished to return your kunai." Even as Anko scowled and took the knife back, the Kusa-nin fixed a hungry look on Naruto. Even being blind, he couldn't help but feel creeped out.

Jumping to the front of the gates, Anko turned to face the crowd once again. "Now that that's out of the way, I have one pointer to all of you before you go in…just try to stay alive!" All of the gates swung open and the genin rushed in. The Survival Test had begun!

…

**_A/N: The OC elves Len Ferro and Ayakasia belong to NorthSouthGorem and TrixBella respectively, while Francois is mine. To those of you who do not know of the characters in "Dungeon Fighter Online", Uncle Linus is the first shopkeeper who sells you weapons and skills in the game—he is apparently a chain smoker._**

…

**_Updated Character Classes:_**

**_Konohamaru: eventually a Blade Master (Short Sword/Katana)_**

**_Udon: Launcher_**

**_Moegi: Not sure which Mage Class to advance her to_**

**_Len Ferro: All Mage (even the Male ones)_**

**_Ayakasia: Silver Moon (Rogue advanced class)_**

**_Francois: All Thief_**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

"**_Reset (Thank-You)" by Rei Kondoh from "Okami"—Team Eleven sleeping, and then signing the forms_**

"**_Last Wolf Suite" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—GSD's warning_**

"**_Nine-tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Ibiki's written test_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Risu and Kago—both are words in Japanese for 'squirrel', and are the names of the DJ's operating the table in Chouza's bar_**

**_The number 4—in Chinese and Japanese culture, the number four is an unlucky number as it rhymes with the word for 'death' or 'die' (same with the number ten in Chinese), and thus the number 44 is considered an especially unlucky number. This is a fitting designation for a training ground known as the 'Forest of Death'._**


	23. Cursed

**_A/N: Things are getting more interesting. Sorry for the delay, we wanted to make sure this chapter came out right. Thank the collaboration between me, Trixbella, and NorthSouthGorem for this chapter, and for the chapters to come. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

**_…_**

[Team Eight…]

"What scroll have we got?" asked Kiba as he looked around for anyone who might attack, as well as potential meals.

Shino pulled out the rolled-up scroll from his pouch for the rest of his team to see. "We have the Heaven scroll," he said in his usual deadpan voice, "we simply have to be lucky to find someone with an Earth scroll that we can take, assuming they do not overpower us."

Kiba simply grinned. "That should be easy. With our tracking capabilities, we should be able to find another team pretty quickly. And if they have the same scroll we do, we have more of a bargaining chip!"

Shino simply pushed up his sunglasses and looked back at the Inuzuka. "I would not count on that Kiba. One can only hope that we don't run into the Suna team…something about that red-headed girl bothers me, and my friends." By 'friends', Shino meant the swarms of Kikaichu that lived within his body as with all Aburame members.

Hinata, thus far, was the only one who remained silent. With a faint sigh, she thought back on how things had changed since a certain apple of her eye had returned from his training trip. For many years prior, she had always admired Naruto from afar, because of the way he simply shrugged off failure and kept trying. It inspired her to do better and find confidence in herself by following his example. Her admiration-turned-love was hidden (hopefully) from the eyes of the elders; those deluded old coots only cared about trying turn the entire clan into an army for them to eventually rule over all of Konoha and thought that the spa and the clinic was both a waste of time and a disgrace to the prestigious clan. Ha! They just didn't want to get up off of their fat asses and do some actual work during peacetime. Come to think of it, it wouldn't kill them to spend just a few minutes performing at least a proper diagnostic on a patient…or at the very least be grateful for the healing cream she'd developed! Hell, even her father approved of it, and he spent no less than 18 hours a week on diagnostics due to his position as clan head, not to mention that the treatments he administered brought more of an income to the family, as more patients and clients came by the hundreds to either have their ailments cured and their stresses alleviated.

Another secret she'd managed to hide for quite some time was Hanabi's shared interest in music when she caught her playing the piano very fluently…and that was while Naruto-kun was away on that training trip of his. After that, the two of them secretly performed duets on their mother's piano until they happened across a store carrying an instrument that caught their eye: the DJ table. It was not long until both sisters had learned to play better in sync, which filled the compound with a hauntingly beautiful sound in the morning when the sisters played on the piano (much to the disgust of the Hyūga elders, who stated that it was 'undignified and impractical' for any Hyūga to play any sort of instrument).

After having enough practice to get proper operation of a DJ table down pat, Hinata took up the identity of Risu and Hanabi Kago. Once they had confirmed their secret identities, the two of them went to Chōza-sama's bar and tried out for playing the DJ table after the younger of the two had gotten out of class and Hinata was found with free time. It would've been redundant at the auditions to say that the two of them were a shoe-in for the part, especially after someone failed the judges' expectations so miserably that it wasn't funny. It was easy when they both took their sides of the DJ table and played a song that made the judges want to dance; much to her surprise, Hinata was so caught up in the playing that she actually sang! And it was thanks to this that she and Hanabi were approached by Chōji to become the DJ's in the band he was forming up. She later learned, much to her joy, he was going to recruit Naruto-kun as the lead guitarist with Meilan-chan as the lead female singer!

"Hey, Hinata-chan," said Kiba, catching her attention as he leered at her lustfully, "You think after we're done with these exams we can go out for a date?"

Hinata turned red. It was not the cute, embarrassed flush that she emitted so often in Naruto's presence, but an angry coloration that showed danger for its target. Even in present company, she tried to keep a civil tone, but only wound up spitting out her words bitingly. "No thank you, Kiba. Now if you'll be so kind, we have an exam to focus on."

As if to stress the point, a cold aura filled the air; Akamaru shivered most visibly. Even Shino felt the freezing waves emanating from his friend, despite the fact that he outwardly showed no reaction; as a matter of fact, even his Kikaichu felt a great deal of fear. The only person who was not aware of this cold aura was Kiba, as he merely looked on at Hinata with that stupid-looking grin on his face, as if nothing happened. "Oh come on! Can't you even consider it?"

"No, Kiba," snapped the Hyūga, her impatience clear in her voice. Without warning, she chucked a kunai, accurately impaling the head of a big snake in an attempt to take her anger out on something else, "I've said it to you time and time again, and I don't feel like saying it to you once more. Now stop treating me like a broken record-player and leave me alone!"

Just as she reached over to retrieve the knife, Kiba grabbed her wrist. Not even waiting to hear what he had to say, she slugged him across the face, knocking him on his ass.

As if she'd not stopped, she pulled the blade out of the snake's head before swiftly decapitating the poor reptile for dinner.

Nursing his cheek, Kiba turned to face Hinata's back to let his rage and impatience be known with a shout. "WELL AT LEAST TELL ME WHY THE FUCK NOT!"

Not even Shino bothered trying to stay stoic as Hinata's cold rage intensified; Akamaru knew, seeing her flinch and bringing the blade down that that was quite the wrong thing to say! For the first time since he'd first started badgering the Hyūga heiress for a date, the foolish Inuzuka heir felt the full intensity of her anger. He staggered back, too scared to even care that the dog he had been paired with was pissing in his jacket from fear of Hinata's glare. To be honest, the quiet (but clearly angry and venomous) tone of voice she used made _him_ start to piss himself, as he could feel the anger trying to penetrate his rib cage and impale his heart. "Why not? You've been prancing around in front of me not even taking notice of me for some time now, and now you ask me why I won't go out on a date with you? Don't tell me you've forgotten about what you did to a particular Hyūga member almost a year ago?! How you said something along the lines that my younger sister was not as pretty as me but that she was the only girl who was not taken by 'Sasu-gay' and that 'blind fuck'? How about when you slapped that little girl and told her that she belongs to you?! Or how about the reason you were being punished with a relatively light sentence by your mother? That, Inuzuka Kiba, is why the **_FUCK_** not!"

If Kiba's bladder was emptied out at this point, it would've been shriveled dry by now, and for a wonder he knew he should have kept his mouth shut, especially as soon as he saw that Hinata's grip on the snake had tenderized it on that area as she squeezed harder and harder. Why could the ground not swallow you up at opportune times? "Face it Kiba, you **_fucked_** up big time, and were it not for the fact that you are on the same **_team_** as me, I would've asked Naruto-kun to come over long ago and then allowed him to behead you for almost raping my sister and making her afraid of all Inuzuka members she runs into! Now if you ask me for a date one more time, consider your footing on that paper-thin sheet of ice you are currently standing on lost, and then I will personally guarantee that your manhood will be removed with the rustiest and dirtiest spoon I can get my hands on!"

His imitation of a fish gulping for air was pretty much perfectly done as, for once, Kiba was at a loss for what to say now, and the fact that foul language had left sweet little Hinata's mouth—come to think of it, he'd never seen her this angry before. And then it finally sank in: he'd almost raped and traumatized her little sister? You could see the light-bulb light up as he realized how far up Shit Creek he was, especially given the fact that she was still practically raw about what he did. "You and Akamaru had better head for that river nearby and clean yourselves up," she barked, cutting him off from even uttering a word of apology, "I refuse to eat here now that you're both covered in piss!"

As Kiba watched her butcher and skin the snake, no doubt pretending it was his penis that she was cutting up with that kunai if the anger behind her strokes were any indication, he gratefully took this as a cue to leave. Simply put, he scampered.

Almost as soon as he was out of earshot, Hinata stopped her butchering and looked at Shino, suddenly only mildly annoyed. "Do you think he got the message?" she asked Shino.

She received only a nod in return. That was alright by her as she resumed the preparations for dinner.

…

[Team 9]

The members of Team Nine all settled down to rest. Today was not a very lucky day for them. True, they robbed a team from Taki of their Earth scroll, but the problem was that they also had an Earth scroll. Not a bad start though, as it lessened the competition they would have in the future…by a little, at least. Not to mention that they would have a bargaining chip. "A shame we weren't able to hunt anything," said Lee, biting into a granola bar, "It would have been youthful to have a hot dinner for once."

"I don't care so much about the food as I do the tactical advantage," Neji replied, facing his colleague, "With the campfire cooking some meat, we could've used it as bait to draw in some foolish Genin team that is fated to lose by my hand."

Lee gained a competitive look in his wide eye. "Yosh! If that happens, then the next competition is on! I will get the scroll first, or I shall run a thousand laps around the village in shame for losing to you!"

Tenten on the other hand remained silent as she tuned out her teammates' conversation. Pensively, she looked down at a set of shackles that her father had hastily made. As rough a condition as they were in, they were still finely-made. When she asked him about why she had to make sure they went to Naruto, she did not expect the response she would get…

…

[Flashback: Higurashi Arsenal, one day ago…]

A sizzling hiss of hot metal being quenched filled the air, followed by an exhale of relief as Hiten wiped the sweat off his brow. Six straight hours of quick, hard labor tended to do that to a person, and Tenten was concerned for her father. "Dad, what's going on? Normally you don't do a rush job like this, and why did you ask for the seals that our ancestor made?"

Turning to look his daughter in the eye, he immediately saw her fear swelling up. With a sigh, Hiten put down the shackles he had just finished quenching and carefully placed them all in a box as he beckoned Tenten to follow him to the Sealing Chamber. Hiten was done making all three sets, so all he needed to do now was to write down the seals needed for them to work. He may as well fill his daughter in on it now. As he reached for the seal designs and the ink brush, he asked, "Tenten, have you heard of the Curse of Kazan?"

She was confused and said nothing for a moment as she watched her father add water to the grinder. He rubbed the ink bar on the abrasive surface before spreading out the scroll before him to be used as a diagram. Tenten knew that he was not watching, but that did not stop her shrugging in a manner that said 'sort of.' "Just a few campfire stories during my survival training," she began slowly, "about some kind of sickness that turns people's skin red, driving them crazy, making them kill-"

"They're not stories." Her fear increased, not from being cut off so suddenly, but by the words her father had stated so calmly and matter-of-factly. The so-called 'Curse' was real? As she watched her father finish writing the seal down on the first set of chains, she began to wonder why her father would bring up such a horrible thing—and confirming its existence no less. "I'm pretty sure you noticed when you first met him again, that Naruto now has a red arm," added Hiten as he calmed down, "and it was shackled with a set of heavy chains like what I'm making now. The reason he has to wear those chains is because it acts as a limiter, preventing the curse from spreading throughout his body. Thanks to the Rikudō Sennin, the curse is no longer infectious, but it is inherited."

Tenten could not help but look on, concerned. "What happens if the chains are removed?"

Hiten's attention had not left the writing of the seal on the shackles, and his large size and frame belied a dexterity one would expect of a pianist due to the neatness of his penmanship. "I've not seen it for myself, but I know from my lessons that if it were to happen under normal circumstances, the poor soul would first suffer incredible amounts of pain from the physical transformation and then go through a stint of dementia before finally winding up in a murderous rampage and killing indiscriminately. Naruto's case however, is different…and don't ask why, it's not my secret to share."

Once he was done writing the seals down on the last chain, Hiten gave the ink a moment to dry as he made a move towards the jar of lacquer he had nearby. Turning to face his daughter while opening the lid, he painted the lacquer over the ink. After adding the last coat onto the shackles, he waited for them to dry before handing one set to his daughter. The look of urgency on his face had made it clear how dire the situation was to her. "Tenten, if you love Naruto as much as you think you do – no _don't_ argue, this is serious – then you will make sure that this limiter gets to him. I don't know why he'll need it, but something tells me he will. The other two are for the Uchiha twins, so you need only take this set; I'll give them to Mikoto-sama myself."

…

[Present]

Tenten opened the box and looked at its contents—it was just yesterday that her father had made her promise that the shackles would go to Naruto, but due to the chaos of the day's events, she never had a chance to get it to him. Especially given how many people had pushed her away from him and drowned her voice out from calling him. She could only hope that she finds him before what her father feared would come to pass.

"If you're so confident that you'll win, then why don't you do the youthful thing and make a bet with me?" whined Lee, desperate to get Neji to participate.

"Because it is a no-brainer," snapped the Hyūga prodigy in irritation, "They are fated to die by my hand…just as it is my fate to beat you at your little bet!"

"Then why not prove it, if you're so confident that you'll win?"

"Fine, since you put it that way, if I find that scroll first as fate so clearly decreed, you will have to treat me, Tenten, and Gai-sensei to whatever we want to buy for three years…weapons, clothes, whatever we want, you're paying."

Tenten glanced up at the mention of her name when Rock Lee flinched briefly before the fire returned to his eyes as he punched the air. "Yosh! I can handle three years of paying for the three of you!"

"There's more," continued Neji with a devious grin on his face, "If at any point you say anything about the 'flames of youth', you will add another month of paying for us!"

Now this was interesting! Tenten could only wonder as to what her colleague's response would be…what came out of Lee's mouth was not what she expected: "Very well, I'll just have to work extra hard to find that scroll first! However, should I win this bet, Neji, not only will you have to pay me, Tenten, and Gai for all our things for three years, but if you say a word about fate in that time, then you will have to run around the village in your underwear saying 'I submit to the flames of youth' in addition to paying for an extra month!"

The look of horror on Neji's face was clear! But it soon became a look of determination. No way in hell was he going to lose! Returning to his normal regal (read 'conceited') expression, the Hyūga prodigy raised his hand for Rock Lee to shake, and the moment their hands gripped together it became official that the bet was on. For the moment, Tenten forgot about the extra mission she had chosen to take up…there will be time for her to run into Naruto again. She could only hope that she found him before something bad happened to him, and before she could even get the chance to apologize to him for what her uncle did to him.

…

[Team Minet]

The team from New Lorien strolled through the so-called "Forest of Death" at a leisurely pace. They'd just received a Heaven Scroll, and so all that was required was for them to get their hands on an Earth Scroll. Unfortunately, they had not run into another team yet, but there was no need to worry; what Minet had taught them was sufficient enough for them to survive. "Ugh! This is just great!" said François, having stepped in a pool of blood coming from an unfortunate genin's corpse, "And I just got this armor back from the leather shop! Can this day get any worse?"

Ayakasia rolled her eyes, and let out a sigh of frustration. François was usually like this mainly due to her love for fashion. "If you're so opposed to wearing your favorite leather armor out shortly after it's been cleaned and repaired, then why wear it to these exams at all?"

At that, François threw her arms up in exasperation. "Because my scale armor is still being repaired at Sir Kargon's shop! This suit is mainly intended for when I have to do some intelligence-gathering or assassination, but I want some survivability when I do something like this!"

Len rolled his eyes but remained silent. _You don't see _me_ complaining about crummy armor, do you?_ he grumbled to himself.

Before Ayakasia could even open his mouth in retort, her ears had picked up a sound coming from nearby. At this point, Len and François had already picked up that sound, and all three grinned in amusement with the former breaking the silence. "We have company!"

"Well, well, well! Look what we've got here!" taunted a voice coming out from behind the New Lorien team, "It's that upstart team of pointy-eared freaks from that new place. What's it called again? New-something?"

The three elves turned around, and had a look at their new victims. It was a Genin team of two boys and a girl from Iwa, judging by their hitai-ate. One of the boys was bald and wore black monk robes over a white t-shirt, a pair of round green-polarized goggles, and beige shorts with his hitai-ate around his right bicep while he shouldered a long trident—obviously the leader if his posture were any indication. The other boy wore no top showcasing a well-built and battle-scarred torso, his pants were tied at his ankles with a tiger skin fauld over it, wearing his hitai-ate around his neck and a pair of gauntlets around his wrists as his shoulder-length hazel-colored hair extended in all directions while looking at the team from New Lorien with a self-assured look in his chestnut-colored eyes. The Kunoichi of the team had wine-colored eyes and hair the color of midnight, wearing nothing but a wide-sleeved light jacket with a high collar that went down to her thighs and bandages going up to her calves—she did not appear to be carrying any weapons due to the fact that her sleeves were concealing her hands.

"I think this gonna be easy," chuckled the brutish Genin, leering lustfully at the two elf girls, "This team looks too pretty…maybe they're weak as they look!"

"Such a shame," said the kunoichi, "Because it's a perfect waste to pair beauty with weakness."

At this, François looked at Len. "Did you hear a word they just said?"

"I think they're trying to insult us," Ayakasia murmured, smirking.

"Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure the brute and the girl called us 'pretty'."

Len gave a bark of laughter. "Girl, in human terms we are pretty much the pinnacle of beauty! That and I'm pretty sure they're incompetent anyway, so let's pay 'em no mind."

This irritated the Iwa leader to no end. "Hey! Don't ignore us!"

Still ignoring them, Len and François continued their exchange. "Well what about that 'weak' comment about us?" asked François, feigning curiosity, "Surely they can't be serious about that?"

"Feh! Who knows? They can be as serious as they like, but I'll be the one to take the scroll."

Normally, François was a bit laid-back, whenever gambling of any sort was involved her competitive streak came out. "Interesting…and what will happen if I lose that bet?"

With a wide and devious grin, Len chuckled. "Hm…I wonder. Let me get back to ye after I win." A slight accent tinged his voice, hinting at the excitement beneath his calm exterior

She was taken aback by that wager, but François answered with her own devious grin. "Fine; but if you lose, then you must pay for every article of clothing I buy for the next two centuries with your own paycheck! Judging by the look of them though, I estimate that if we don't hold back, we'll do to them in mere moments what it took the Kīroi Senkō a couple of hours to do in the Third Shinobi War."

The taller elf's accent strengthened. "Eiya, yer an evil woman, Franky! But nothin' ventured nothin' gained, so I'll take ya up on that!"

Ayakasia sighed at the bickering duo beside her, but was amused at the brief look of horror on Len's face before it melted back into confidence. This was because whenever she was not training hard or on missions, François was what one would call a 'fashion fanatic' in her free time—often spending a good-sized amount of money on the latest fashions back home. To pay for her new dresses and kimono for the next two centuries would be devastating on one's paycheck at the rate she spends! Annoyed as she was with their antics, she also knew it was just ruse to get the enemy team to lower their guard.

"What'd you say!?" Those three shouted words had broken out of her musing, the raven-haired elf looked at the team leader of the Iwa-nin. "Say that again you prick-eared freak!" he shouted at Len.

"You heard her!" Len drawled out, accent gone, "She said that New Lorien can do better than the Kīroi Senkō in the Third Shinobi War when it comes to dealing with Iwa!" By now the team leader looked like a lobster, though the other two looked exasperated at their leader for actually getting provoked. "Oho, what's this? Have I struck a nerve with ya, cueball?" He thumped his chest with a fist. "Come on then, try an' stick me with that little pitchfork ya got there!"

Seeing as the conversation was definitely over, the elven team prepared themselves and spread out.

(Ayakasia)

Ayakasia kept a neutral gaze as she leapt from tree to tree, scanning her surroundings for any possible ambushes from other teams. The quaking of the ground immediately warned her of a threat and she jumped away from the tree she was on. Looking behind her, she saw that said tree was pulverized by the brutish Iwa shinobi.

"I commend you for sensing this one coming…" The Shinobi stated. The elven princess just stared at him with half-lidded eyes as if saying 'Is this actually happening?' He coughed slightly, "Well…despite what Taichō feels about all this, Yūsuke hopes you give him a good fight!" And with a couple of hand seals, rocks from the ground formed gauntlets on his hands and greaves on his feet.

Ayakasia jumped back, avoiding a literal earth-shattering blow from her opponent, and retaliated by throwing a handful of kunai at him. The shinobi blocked it with ease with his makeshift gauntlets and continued his charge by performing a body flicker behind her and aimed a kick to her head.

The elf ducked and had to roll away as Yūsuke followed up with an axe kick. Her eyes widened as a pillar of earth jutted out below her and hit her square in the stomach, lifting her body into the air. Flipping to get herself centered, she landed on a tree branch and looked around. She narrowed her eyes at her opponent being nowhere in sight and immediately widened them, yet again jumping away as the tree behind her ruptured and the Iwa-nin leaped out with an uppercut aimed at her.

Tired of being in the defensive, her eyes glowed silver and she shot off like an arrow. As she moved her body became outlined with blue and purple streaks. The hit connected and she quickly fired off a multitude of mana-powered kicks to the body before finishing with an axe kick to the face. The kick sent Yūsuke to the ground, but before she could continue her assault he managed to get a gauntlet and blocked her punch. Ayakasia cursed, and quickly substituted herself with a Bunshin just in time to witness her clone explode from a haymaker.

The blast sent the two flying in opposite directions and both slammed into a tree. Ayakasia grit her teeth in annoyance as she watched Yūsuke shake off her blows with ease. The Shinobi noticed this and rolled his eyes. "If you think that this one is going to explain how he is shrugging off everything you're throwing him like some run-of-the-mill Shinobi, then you've got another thing coming," he stated as he charged again.

"Hmph. A smart decision, but not one that will help you." The elf's eyes shone brighter and brighter, leaving white streaks as she moved, more mana circulating throughout her body. She charged as well to meet him as well, with her hands tensed and straightened, and with a burst of magical energy she sped up her body, her body a blur while her hands met their target. She reappeared behind him and was satisfied to hear the sound of flesh being cut open.

Like they always say; if it's not working, then you're not trying hard enough.

Confident of the fact that all she had to do was be more serious to injure the guy, she faced him and had to shift her body to avoid a punch, then a kick, then many more strikes aimed at her. She watched his face grow from serious to downright ticked-off as she effortlessly dodged his blows. What was funny was that she was forcing the Iwa Shinobi to just use his martial arts instead of complementing them with his earth techniques.

Her amusement was suddenly cut off as his frown turned into a grin, "Just kidding!" he put up the Ram seal. Ayakasia quickly sidestepped away, so fast that it left afterimages of her, and frowned as she realized that she never even noticed him faking it. She heard a 'tsk' and looked at him, "Yet again you've managed to impress this one," he admitted, frowning, "To avoid this one's rock prison technique is very commendable, as few have escaped it," he explained.

Yūsuke was answered with a flat look and the drawing of the elf's Kukris, "Ara, finally being serious against this one? Very well, Yūsuke will also bring it on!"

What happened next was quite baffling, albeit welcomed, to the Iwa shinobi. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor, quite hurt all over with a blood dripping down his nose and a goofy grin on his face. Then he blacked out.

**-Three seconds before blacking out-**

Ayakasia charged her body with mana, her eyes glowing like the moon and she disappeared from view. She then reappeared in front of the shinobi and did the unexpected.

She mounted his face.

Ayakasia had to stifle a groan as Yuusuke's hot breath did many unpleasant things to her nose, and she quickly twisted her position so that she could flip her opponent over on his back…quite hard.

**-Real time-**

Her face in a light flush, she adjusted her dress (as well as everything else) and walked over to the unconscious shinobi. She tied him up with extra strong wire and salvaged anything of value on his person before leaving him to the forest.

Let it be known that the elven princess was not afraid to use her own body to win.

(Len Ferro)

This cue-ball was most definitely going down! And as Len pulled out what appeared to be a long-chained pocket watch, he did not shift from his relaxed stance, much to his opponent's fury. The baldy started turning red as he tightened the grip on his trident. "You're going down, pretty-boy, or my name isn't Ankokuji Ekei!"

"If I go down, it won't be on you, ugly! I don't swing that way!"

A momentarily confused look crossed the Iwa-nin's face before it turned red with rage. The young man, now known as Ankokuji Ekei, charged and began to attack with reckless abandon, thrusting his trident wildly in an attempt to impale his opponent with the three tines of his spear.

Every attack was met with the same result: Len simply and effortlessly dodging his attacks as he tightened his grip on the chain of the watch; ducking, swinging, weaving, and back-pedaling away from every strike aimed at him by the crazy bald kid. "Oi…you're not very good with this thing, are you?" he muttered.

Frustrated with his lack of results, Ekei reeled back and had swung his trident in a single sweep to try and trip up his opponent only for Len to slide in quickly and twist his body in such a manner as to grab the trident. Using the moment of shock, Len yanked it out of Ekei's hand, spun it expertly, and smashed the butt end of it into its owner's face before throwing the three-tined spear away. Once the trident was a good distance away, Len pulsed chakra through the watch's chain and lashed out. The broad, round watch streaked forward, smashing through the haft of the trident.

"W-what? That's…" Ekei gasped, stunned.

"Hey, what's the matter? Was that your only offensive advantage?" Len turned to face his opponent, his face spreading in a sharp, predatory grin as swung his pocket watch in circles next to him. "Such a shame, too! Just when I**decided to get dangerous."** With that said, he grabbed the slender chain with both hands and snapped it taught. An aura of black tentacles roared up around him, staining everything within a darker color; Len's skin turned gray, his eyes and hair white, and his clothes turned black and green. **"Tch. Be grateful I'm even showing you Pendolo, let alone this."** Ekei tried to ready himself in a taijutsu stance, but was stunned with a side kick and took an uppercut under his chin With a lash, the watch's chain wrapped neatly around his neck. There was a small *snick* and two sets of three curved spinning extended from the edge. With one last derisive laugh, Len pulled back savagely, decapitating the unfortunate Ekei.

**"And then there was none!"**

(François)

As she stared down her opponent with obvious disdain, François found that her opponent was amateur at best just by sizing her up. She sighed and she shook her head in disappointment. No, she was not amused at all! "It's bad enough that I have to fight the girl with no fashion sense, but the fact that she is also weak is a bit of an insult."

The scandalized look on the Iwa kunoichi's face was there for a moment, and then gone with the next as it was replaced with a predatory grin from finding a worthy adversary. As soon as she slipped into her pose, she pulled out a pair of long-bladed kunai from her sleeves. "Well aren't you cheeky? Nobody's been able to insult me as much as you and your team, and lived to tell the tale! Since that's the case, I suppose you can call me Shiragane Kotoko."

"I'm sorry, you say something? Because I was thinking of the fashions back home that I could try out…who knows, I may even be able to enthrall all of the men in your village and leave you a _virgin_ in it!"

That did it. Kotoko charged in with her long-bladed kunai at the ready, slashing at the air. François ducked and wove under the swing. Another horizontal slash, and the elf back-flipped over it, ducked down low enough under the next one to perform a backwards sweep kick, and caused Kotoko to lose her balance before the sweep flowed into straight kick that sent her flying backwards into a tree. As she came to, she saw that her opponent was twirling one of her combat knives by the ring guard with a taunting smile on her face. "Since you're trying so hard to even scratch me, I'll humor you for a bit. Judging by how weak you are, I think only one knife will do."

With renewed fervor, Kotoko moved in performing a sort of ballet with her kunai; every swing she made was meant to go after a vital kill-zone. In her mind, as slim a profile as they have, these 'elves' still have a humanoid body type, and as such the kill zones that apply to a human should apply to them. While she had the right idea, and the fact that her dance had increased her speed somewhat, she still found herself frustrated as the elf dodged every swing. A graceful horizontal slash to the neck ducked under, a quick thrust to the subclavian artery in the shoulder sidestepped, and a bladed uppercut back-flipped away from. Upon landing on her feet, François inspected herself out of habit. She was surprised and infuriated to find a scratch on her shoulder. "Oh, you so did not do what I think you just did!"

"Grow up! Like a professional kunoichi has time to think about such things!"

François' eyes started to glow. "You're going to regret saying something like that…and you're going to pay for damaging my leather armor!"

François disappeared from Kotoko's sight. Before she could wonder where the elf had gone, she felt the blade of a knife penetrate her back before she was stabbed in her left triceps, and then her right. The next thing she saw was François dance around in front of her before driving her foot onto her chest to knock her back. The Iwa Kunoichi was forced to watch the demise of her teammates upon standing up: Yūsuke was knocked out when the other elf in the party threw him and then tied him down, while Ekei had his head cut off with that odd weapon…and now she was the last one standing. She could only think of one way out; pathetic as it was. "Wait, please! I-i-if you spare me, I'll put in a good word for you with the Tsuchikage!" she stuttered, maintaining every effort to keep control of her bodily functions and keep a steady hand on her kunai through her fear and pain, "He m-might enjoy the prospect of b-being allies with your people, if y-you're all that powerful."

"Really? And how much longer does he have to live until your people decide to betray and commit genocide on us, like the Mizukage Yagura with his own people?" asked Ayakasia derisively, as she walked closer with Len, "We elves have a longer lifespan than humans that can go on for hundreds of years. Do not think for a second that we were out of the loop when our nation was being formed; our spy network equals, if not surpasses, that of the great Gama Sennin Jiraiya himself, making us privy to things that would make your people white with fear…such as the fact that your dreaded enemy, the Kīroi Senkō, survived his encounter with the Kyūbi no Yokō by a son!"

Kotoko's eyes had widened upon hearing that. She could not believe it; the Kīroi Senkō had a son? This bit of information would be useful to Iwa if she should escape her encounter with those prick-eared freaks alive. She had barely taken a step backward when she saw François disappear in a 'whoosh.' Then she felt someone smash her knees forward, forcing her to kneel, and looking up, the last thing the Iwa Kunoichi saw was her opponent moving in front of her. Françoise twirled her knife at a high speeds before swinging the spinning blade up one of Kotoko's shoulders, then down the other, before bringing it across and through her neck. Kotoko's last sight ended with that of her headless body as François brought the spinning knife back down to catch it by the handle and shake off the blood in one motion.

"Rendez-vous en enfer, salope!" said François, watching as the headless and armless corpse slumped forward and collapsed, blood pooling beneath it.

Len shook his head, looking slightly aggrieved at the mess that was made. "A bit excessive to do the arms as well, don't you think? Why not just lop off the head an' be done with it? Or better yet, just knock her out like that guy over there?" He indicated Yūsuke.

François shrugged. "We may as well search the corpses, and see who won," she said, ignoring the question.

"Don't bother," interrupted Ayakasia, "It's not even the scroll we're looking for."

Both Len and François face-palmed. It was a draw…but the game was still afoot. Glancing at each other, they nodded in silent affirmation. Next time, the winner would be decided!

As they exited the clearing however, Len suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked back towards the Kunoichi.

"Oh come on, really? Now?" asked François in exasperation, "She doesn't need it, let's go!"

Not heeding her, Len kneeled on the ground and picked up Kotoko's severed head and turned it over, so he was looking at her shocked face and glassy eyes. "Don't mind her," he said, jerking his thumb at the Kunoichi's killer, "She's just pissy 'cause you laid a scratch on her armor." He closed her eyelids gently with one hand and set the head next to the stump of her neck. "Rest in peace," he said simply. Then he stood up, brushed off his pants, and walked back to his teammates. "What?" he asked harshly at their exasperated looks, "In times like these, one must respect the dead."

…

[Team 7]

Thus far, the all-girl team was having a relatively easy time in the Forest of Death. No luck in finding anyone with a Heaven Scroll just yet, but given time and luck, they might be able to find some idiots who would be easy pickings. Suddenly, a loud 'poof' was heard, followed by a loud rustling sound approaching quickly. Tsukiko pushed Sakura away and Satsuki tackled her sister, just in time to see a giant snake charge straight past them with its mouth open. By the time the tail of the snake had passed by, the three girls started to catch their breaths. "Is everybody okay?" asked Satsuki, in between pants.

"I'm fine," answered Tsukiko, "a bit shaken, but fine."

Sakura was about to respond when she heard a chuckle come from out of nowhere. "So it's true," hissed the voice, "the 'last loyal Uchiha' in this village are not fraternal, but identical twins! Imagine the looks on the faces of those inbred fools when they learn that their precious Uchiha are both girls!"

The three of them recognized the speaker…it was the woman who had looked at Naruto like a piece of meat and held a kunai using a long prehensile tongue. What could she possibly want from them? "I imagine that you didn't come here to chit-chat with the both of us," growled Satsuki, suspicion lacing her tone as she tensed and got into a ready position with her katana.

"…Tell us what you want before we decide to kill you!" added Tsukiko, with both of her short blades brandished and ready to stab her enemy to death.

The woman from Kusagakure laughed; there was no sign of fear in her voice. It was as though she knew the outcome beforehand. "If you insist, then here is my proposition…" the Genin of Team 7 widened their eyes in surprise as their enemy pulled out a scroll with the kanji for 'Heaven' on it, "I trust you are looking for this? Well then, it's yours!"

A look of surprise crossed the face of both twins and Sakura before melting back into suspicion. This was way too easy! "Well isn't that generous?" asked Satsuki sarcastically, "Here you are, offering your scroll to us—seemingly out of the kindness of your heart, by the way."

"But we're not stupid," continued Tsukiko, glaring holes into her opponent, "I am very sure that you wouldn't be showing your hand this early in the game and alone no less…"

"…Unless there was a catch!" finished both twins at the same time.

The Kunoichi looked shocked. "Amazing," she said, in faux astonishment, "I'd always thought that arrogance was in the Uchiha blood, but you two seem to have proven me wrong! Very well then, since the two of you have endeared me somewhat with your brilliance, I will cut straight to the chase: this scroll is yours…" the woman tossed the scroll into the air before wrapping her long tongue around it, and swallowing it, "…if you can cut it out of my dead body!"

Momentarily forgetting their disgust, the twins charged in with their blades at the ready. Tsukiko, being the faster twin, got to the woman first and began the fight with swinging both of her sword arms at the Kusa-nin in an x-shaped pattern only for the woman to step back and back-flip away from Satsuki who vaulted over her sister to try and deliver an overhead swing at the target and miss. Said enemy took another step back only to be kicked from behind by Tsukiko and into Satsuki's sword thrust. This would have been a killing blow, as the woman fell neck-first onto the katana blade, but unfortunately, she vanished in a puff of smoke, having replaced herself with a Log. She reappeared behind the twins with a wide, sinister grin. "Such exemplary teamwork," she hissed delightedly, "But I'd heard that all Uchiha were strong! Were the rumors just that?"

"What did you expect?" asked Tsukiko, taunting back.

"We're sisters!" continued Satsuki.

"Our bonds and teamwork _is_ strength!" finished both. Tsukiko dashed around the enemy while Satsuki charged in with her katana at the ready and began to attack the Kusa Kunoichi with strong and deliberate double-handed sword blows. Her opponent took out a pair of kunai and dodged the swings, successfully parrying some of the blows at the expense of the kunai, which were quickly broken. At the same time, she found herself parrying many of Tsukiko's lightning-fast sword strikes while dancing over some of them. After a while, the Kusa kunoichi dropped the destroyed kunai, grabbed Satsuki with a great deal of effort, and used her other kunai to catch Tsukiko's twin blades in such a manner that she could not finish her scissors cut before she deflected both sisters' attacks away and kicking them both in the face.

When the twins got back up, they noted that their opponent was not even winded. It was as though she were toying with them. "Is this the power of your teamwork?" asked the Kunoichi in a mocking tone of voice, "Perhaps your bond is not as strong as you thought!"

The two of them were getting tired of this. They had to end this fight somehow, or else they would be easy pickings for the creepy evil bitch. "Screw this! I'm out of here!" screamed Tsukiko. She sheathed her swords and ran deep into the forest, masking her chakra signature.

"What the hell? Get back here you disgraceful excuse for a sister, and stop shaming our ancestors!" called out Satsuki after her apparently cowardly sister.

"Well, so much for sisterhood," taunted the Kunoichi, "But you did however, manage to impress me somewhat. I've never felt such brute force behind blows such as yours, and add to the fact that you can take more of a beating than your sister, it makes me wonder as to how much more you can take…" She darted in and began striking at lightning speed with her remaining kunai at Satsuki, who simply parried many of the attacks and back-pedaled away from the attacks before pushing back and countering with fast and heavy slashes, much to the surprise of the Kunoichi, who expected this twin to be slower. It seemed that while Tsukiko was significantly faster than her older sister, Satsuki was no slouch in the area of speed herself; and in addition to that, the elder of the Uchiha twins was patient enough to catch the patterns in the Kunoichi's attacks and counterattack accordingly such that she was unable to get back on the offensive.

Before she could think any further as to the tactics of the elder Uchiha twin, the Kusa-nin saw shuriken curving around in front of her and immediately found her body bound by tripwires, Sastsuki having hopped backwards a good distance away, just in time for the wires to wrap around their target and throw wire-entangled shuriken of her own at the kunoichi. As soon as she landed on her feet, and assured that her quarry was not going anywhere, the person who had been in hiding had revealed herself to be Tsukiko, with a bundle of straightened wires in her hands and a devious grin on her face to match that of her sister's. "The old coward trick," said Tsukiko mockingly, "Always an effective tactic to use when you know the opponent is cocky enough to not chase you."

"Hopefully, what we have in store for you will put you down for good," added Satsuki, making it obvious that she too was in on the plan, "I only hope that we can get our hands on your scroll when we do." With that said, both sisters bit onto the wire they each held and flew through the seals quickly, knowing that their opponent could escape at any time. By the time the last seal was finished, both twins concentrated their chakra on the wires they had in their mouths and let the Jutsu loose at the same time. "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"

The flames traveled along the path set by the wire, setting the tree trunk ablaze and raising an unearthly shriek from their trapped opponent. As they watched the enemy set alight with victorious grins on their faces, Satsuki and Tsukiko patted each other on the back as Sakura looked on in amazement—yep, that was her mistresses alright! The cool and sexy mistresses that she was proud to be a slave of. "That's a classic trap on your end, sis," said Satsuki, congratulating her sister, "I can only pray that these scrolls are indestructible."

Tsukiko was ensorcelled by the beauty of the flames dancing before her. She blinked and glanced at the older twin. "Sorry, what?" she asked dazedly.

Satsuki rolled her eyes. "Come on."

The two of them moved closer to investigate the corpse when they heard quiet, disturbing laughter coming from the corpse of the Kusa Kunoichi. Looking closely at the remains of their enemy, they noted that the skin was peeling off like a suit, revealing a yellow catlike eye with purple eye shadow underneath. "Kukukuku…a good attempt, but ultimately futile," mocked the figure, this time in a cold, deeper, and most definitely male voice, "although I will admit, I was wrong about the two of you being over-dependent on teamwork; alone, you are already powerful enough…but together, you were able to hold your own against me. I see so much potential that it's dizzying!" He threw back his head and laughed.

The twins tensed and drew their weapons. They were tired, but they would be damned if they would allow this son of a bitch to kill them on the spot. "Who the hell are you?!" demanded Satsuki, with her katana at the ready.

"The fact that you survived our combined Jutsu tells me that you're no ordinary Shinobi," added Tsukiko, clenching her short swords tighter, "if that's the case, then what the hell are you doing in these exams?"

The person shrugged noncommittally. "If you must know, I am one of the Densetsu no Sannin…my venom will soon spread throughout the Elemental Nations, as I conquer it and the curse of death!" declared the Kusa Shinobi. She, or he, reached up to the peeling skin and tore the rest of it away, revealing a pale and gaunt androgynous face resembling that of a snake, with long black hair going down to the shoulder blades and a sinister grin putting all three Kunoichi on edge, "I am the Hebi Sannin Orochimaru, and your bodies shall be mine!"

A chilly sensation of terror had shot up the spines of Team Seven. This was Orochimaru? The worst traitor in the history of Konoha? This had to be some kind of sick joke! There was no way that Orochimaru, could sneak into the village, was there? Then again, it was possible considering that all of the Sannin were Konoha-born and raised. So frozen were they in their fear that they did not notice the Sannin move in for the kill with a Shunshin and his mouth open, When all of a sudden there was loud *clang.* Both Satsuki and Tsukiko looked behind them to see something they would not have expected, under the circumstances.

"I knew something smelled wrong about you," growled Naruto. He held his newly-bought short sword in his normal hand in a reverse grip, with Orochimaru biting down on the blade and looking at the blind genin in surprise, "I just couldn't place my finger on why a woman would give off the scent of a rotting corpse, as well as the scent of a man. When I sensed that you made a beeline for Team Seven after killing the people I assume were your teammates, I had a suspicion that you were up to no good."

With an extra amount of force, Naruto pushed the Orochimaru away with one hand, causing the Hebi Sannin to re-evaluate his situation as he slid back: not only was the Uzumaki here, but he'd also brought the last Baihe and Shimura Danzo's granddaughter as he had to dodge a super-powered overhead strike by the former and bolts fired from handheld crossbows in rapid succession by the latter. "You two all right?" asked Meilan as she recovered from her attack.

"W-we're fine," started Satsuki, finally snapping out of it.

"…just tired from fighting that asshole is all," added Tsukiko.

"I'll have to admit," continued Satsuki, "your timing was perfect."

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Tsukiko.

"Yes, I'm curious as well," interrupted Orochimaru, genuinely interested in the answer, "How was I tracked, and by a blind boy no less?"

With a smirk, Naruto formed a glyph over his head. "Aside from following your literally stinking trail, it was very easy. I learned long ago that when a sensor-type ninja is looking for someone's chakra signature, it is normally done by picking up the traces of that signature emitted by the subject. However, since I lost my sight, I am able to pick up chakra signatures even when they are masked, because masking your chakra signature requires you to pull in all traces of it back into your body and concentrating it, making you light up in my chakra senses like the full moon on a clear night sky."

This boy was the Dead-Last of the year? Ha! Mizuki and the other teachers of that pathetic Ninja Academy certainly were blinded by their hatred of the boy if this was how brilliant he really was! In fact, Orochimaru grinned hungrily at the prospects of taking Naruto's body. Yes, the potential was there as much as the power; and while he was at it, he might as well study more on that curious red arm of his…what was so significant about it that his teacher also had this arm?

Before he could think any more on the subject, Orochimaru watched as Naruto sheathed his short sword and brought out that Masamune he was reported to have. "This bastard is going down today, girls," he declared, "We need to work together like we did at Nami no Kuni in order to beat him. Remember this: alone, each of us is strong, but together we are even stronger. So…"

Meilan regulated her breathing before gripping her tonfa tighter. Kikyo reloaded her crossbows and made sure her drums of special bolts were ready in addition to her explosives. Even the Uchiha twins felt rejuvenated by the morale boost and readied their blades the anticipation of the next words.

"…LET'S DANCE!"

Meilan charged in for the first attack with a shoulder tackle to push Orochimaru back slightly, before he took an elbow strike to the abdomen, and then a back-handed punch to the face right into Naruto, who brought his sword into an upwards slash to stun the Hebi Sannin and then back down, Where an enormous wheel of energy erupted around the man's midsection. Fortunately for Orochimaru, the chakra he had pumped out of his body had saved him from being cut into pieces, but that did not last long as he was forced to dodge kunai being aimed at him from above by the twins and crossbow bolts being fired at him by Kikyo. Then he had to jump aside to avoid a large crescent-shaped wave of chakra flying towards him and cutting through multiple trees in one pass. Then he was hit from behind by a gigantic ball of lightning chakra. The next thing he had to deal with was bolts aimed at his head by Kikyo, laced with sealed Katon chakra if the fact that the trees hit ignited was an indication. He managed to dodge them in midair before he accidentally landed on a patch of ground and became engulfed in a pillar of lightning chakra.

It was a good thing he managed to substitute himself with a log…Orochimaru almost died from that! But his relief was short-lived as he saw eight Naruto's surrounding him, with four glyphs each over their heads. All had their blades prepared for a heavy downward swing with large amounts of chakra being charged into those katanas. His fears were realized when all eight of the Kage Bunshin, swung downward and fired enormous waves of chakra at him. Sparing not even a second, the Hebi Sannin leaped into the air to perform his Sen'ei Jashū to dispel all the clones, only to be intercepted mid-air by crossbow bolts, a ball of fire, a hail of kunai, and an aerial axe kick by Meilan to send him crashing into the ground, where Naruto was waiting for him. He had five glyphs circling his head.

By the time Orochimaru had gotten close, Naruto shot an arm into the air as all the glyphs shot into five equidistant positions to become gigantic chakra spheres that began to hit the Hebi Sannin rapidly and increasing in speed. He could feel the concussive force of each sphere as they crashed into his body at exponentially high speeds. Finally, the attack finished with a literal bang as all five spheres exploded, sending Orochimaru's now-limp body flying away. Naruto panted after the technique was finished; it was always tiring whenever he performed the Agni Pentacle. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, readying his katana.

"I'm fine," said Meilan, moving in, "I just hope we finally ended him."

"I don't blame you," replied Satsuki in between pants, "that man was just plain creepy."

"Somehow, I don't think this is the last we've seen of him," interjected Tsukiko, "it seems too easy."

Naruto was about to say something when he heard something that had just interrupted his train of thought. "Kukukuku…impressive," laughed the voice of Orochimaru from all directions, "I now see why you are all known as 'The Five Elements' in Nami no Kuni! You all have massive potential, even beyond the power I see in each of you! So much power and grace in fact, that just one of you is able to give me trouble, and together you may even have the power to kill me yet!"

This was bad…they were all tired, and Orochimaru being alive was not making things any easier. "Since the five of you have impressed me so much, I think I have a gift for each of you!" A scream of pain alerted the five of them. They looked around and saw a seriously wounded Orochimaru biting into Kikyo's neck. The suddenness of the attack threw the rest of them off, giving him enough time to release her and extend his neck at lightning fast speeds to bite Tsukiko on the left shoulder.

At that point, the shock from seeing the traitorous snake biting Kikyo in the neck wore off, but it was too late for Satsuki to save her sister. She ran at him, trying to ward him off with a short series of slashes. However, without even looking he blocked with his own sword, and much as she strained to break through, his arm did not so much as waver. She backed off and slashed again, only to stop as Orochimaru threw Tsukiko at her; she dropped her sword in panic, trying to catch her sister. She felt a pair of fangs pierce her shoulder, then pain.

Naruto did not know what was going on…one moment, the area was clear, and the next thing he knew, a thick fog of pure chakra had obstructed his chakra senses followed by Kikyo's scream. And as he felt the Uchiha twins getting incapacitated, he had only one conclusion: the Snake Bastard dispersed his chakra signature into the air, and effectively jamming his senses with static. "Meilan," he whispered urgently, getting the girl's attention, "I'm going to attack him, and I want you to run away. I know it's not the Baihe way, but this is important!"

"I'm not going to leave you Naruto," she snapped lightly, determination lacing her voice, "We're in this together, through-"

"Listen up!" interrupted Naruto, surprising Meilan at the fact that he raised his voice to her again, "This is serious! I know we're in this together, but this is not an opponent we can take on alone. When he lets go of Satsuki, I'll try to buy you some time, but you need to run as fast as you can and get help. I am counting on you!"

The look of shock melted away from Meilan's face before being replaced with conviction. As much as she would try to deny it, she knew Naruto was right. She simply stood at the ready, waiting…watching…timing the moment for her escape just right. A simple error would increase the chances of her suffering the same fate as the other girls, and Naruto in a moment.

Once he was assured that his task was complete with both twins Orochimaru set his sights on Meilan, who was not too far away from Naruto when she started running. The Hebi Sannin ignored his blind opponent, and went for the last Baihe only to be stopped by Naruto jumping in. He attacked with a downward slash from his katana while brandishing his short sword in the other hand. "You're going to have to get past me first, you disgusting bastard!" he barked.

He opened with a lightning-fast series of slashes at the head and neck, in an attempt to buy the girl more time to flee. However, the problem was that the Hebi Sannin had already wised up; instead of drawing in every trace of his chakra signature, Orochimaru dispersed it into the air. Now Naruto had to rely on his ultrasonic hearing in order to fight—which would be easier if the body in front of him had a pulse.

With every swing he dodged, Orochimaru's grin of amusement widened even further. "Since you've volunteered yourself so willingly, I think I'll humor you for a bit!"

In response, Naruto charged Hyōton chakra into his katana and swung upwards, releasing a wave of ice spikes upon impact. They travelled across the ground at the charging Orochimaru, only to have the Hebi Sannin leap over the wave and bite Naruto on his normal arm. The boy winced in pain and dropped his katana as unconsciousness claimed him. All the while, that abomination injected something in the wound.

…

[Elsewhere, far from the victims]

She'd been running for a while now, but Meilan found an opportunity to rest and catch her breath at the base of a tree. With the surge of adrenaline having run out, she silently cried to herself as to the likely scenarios that would befall her friends and lover…what that evil abomination of a man would do to them…what horrors that they would become. However, all thoughts of the worst-case scenario were banished from her mind as she remembered her mission. Naruto-kun's sacrifice could not, _would_ not be in vain! She'd get help if she had to shout her lungs out with every ounce of Nen energy she had.

Her hopes were been dashed upon hearing laughter she seriously did not want to hear. "Kukukuku. That was a smart move, your boyfriend buying you time to flee and get help. In reality, even the dead could see that he just wanted you to get to safety while he attempted to hold me off…it's touching, really. A worthy attempt, but utterly futile!"

There was no escape. His attempt to save her was a failure, but at the very least she could go down fighting…at the very least she would see him at the other side if he died. Meilan strengthened her resolve, gripped the handles of her tonfa tighter and slipped into a fighting stance. As she did, Orochimaru's laughter filled the area. She was all alone…and she'd never felt as hopeless as she did now. But there was no time for that now.

Sensing the presence behind her, Meilan turned to land a heavy punch with her tonfa only to smash the tree behind her. _Shit!_ She felt it. Orochimaru sank his fangs into her neck and caused her eyes to widen both in pain and shock, then the agony of something being pumped into the wound, and finally the blackness of unconsciousness claiming her…

…

[Team Seven and Eleven's current location, almost fifteen minutes later…]

Sakura still stood there, frozen with terror. Within a good ten minutes, her mistresses, Kikyo, and Naruto fell to the fangs of the evil Sannin. Due to her civilian upbringing, she had never learned how to weather such sights as what she had witnessed before her. Was she a burden? Could she do anything right at all?

The sound of something heavy being dragged across the dirt sounded. The Hebi Sannin came into view, grinning at his handiwork as he dragged the unconscious body of Meilan by the collar of her dress. As he released the last Baihe near Naruto's body, with smug satisfaction at the fact that the 'Five Elements of Nami no Kuni' were all marked. The Haruno girl looked ready to piss herself. "Now things have been set in motion, and the five of them will come to me for power," he taunted, grinning in victory, "This is but a small sample of the wonders I have in store for them. Perhaps they will be wise enough to take that potential to a whole new level! But as for young Naruto…I think I'll…" Orochimaru never got to finish his sentence. Naruto started squirming in pain and clutching his chest while the Uchiha twins grabbed each other's arms in an attempt to dull the pain, as all three of them moaned in agony. The traitorous Sannin could only watch in curiosity.

…

[Naruto's Mindscape]

Kurama felt it. The bite on that arm would not have any effect on her, but she knew its significance. That fool of a Sannin obviously did not realize what he had done. He did not understand the ramifications of injecting _what_ he had just injected into Naruto-kun and the Uchiha twins. That idiot! And now she had to-

Her train of thought was interrupted as she turned around and saw someone she definitely did not want to see. A slimy black hand closed around her neck and raised her above his head, a sinister and sharp-toothed smile on his face. His dark laughter had told her that she was too late…_he_ was already here.

**"The curse has been strengthened in him,"** growled the black monster. He brought his blank face to hers, forcing Kurama to smell his disgusting breath, **"That means that this house is now mine! Consider this your eviction notice, daughter!"**

The Jūbi reeled back and threw the woman out through the roof of the mansion. He laughed evilly and in triumph. This mansion was now his!

…

[Real World]

The tormented screams still sounded off as the twins gripped their arms, and Naruto his chest. Obvious changes were taking place that Orochimaru had not foreseen; in the twins, their arms resounded with massive amounts of pain from the part where they were each bitten. They watched in horror as the skin of their arms had turned blood red, and their fingernails lengthened, ending in sharp-tipped claws before unconsciousness had claimed them both.

Naruto on the other hand, was suffering from more than just his right arm mutating: as he clutched his chest in agony, ten sharp-tipped protrusions sprouted from his back, before that patch of skin had started turning red and a pair of claw-tipped effeminate arms grew from his back and started pushing the rest of the body out and tearing his vest apart. The features started becoming more and more definite; a screaming head of a woman started to emerge from the flesh, and then snow-colored hair was sprouting from the bald patches. Finally the woman fell out of Naruto's body entirely, her red skin stained further with blood. The savage woman glared up at Orochimaru with hatred in her blood-red eyes.

"If you touch a hair on their heads, then I will kill you," growled the naked and well-muscled woman, "and if I see you again, you ignorant, power-hungry bastard of a snake, then I will kill you in a most painful fashion! Nobody messes with my future mate, and gets away with it! Now leave before I change my mind!"

He did not need to be told twice. Orochimaru was at least Kage-level, but he was no match for the power of a Bijū, least of all their apparent queen and in his current condition no less! With that thought on mind, he ran away. Content that the fool was gone, Kurama started to sway as she caught sight of the Haruno girl. "If you would be so kind as to get me some clothes for when I wake up, then that would be good."

Without waiting for an answer, Kurama collapsed, landing on Naruto in such a way as to press her large, firm breasts into his face.

**_…_**

**_A/N: The musical style of Hinata and Hanabi when they're at the DJ table is something along the lines of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. As to eating snake, I've heard it tastes rather good…like a cross between fish and chicken._**

**_Edit: Since I've received a complaint or two about how I went about the curse mark, I've attempted to try and rectify that mistake. Hopefully, it's more believable._**

**_…_**

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_ Kunai – Throws a kunai or multiples of kunai that deal neutral physical damage to enemies_**

**_Diving Arrow – Dives from the sky, performing quick kicks and a finish attack that creates a shockwave_**

**_Transformation: Molting – Drops a doppelganger in your place and warps you away. The doppelganger will taunt enemies and if enough damage is done to the doppelganger, it will explode dealing neutral magic damage_**

**_Shining Cut – Slides forwards at high speeds to slash enemies_**

**_Eraser (Variation) – Grabs and slashes an enemy, dealing neutral physical damage. Attacking from behind deals additional damage._**

**_Tiger Chain Strike (Female Fighter) – The fighter charges in and performs a shoulder tackle, followed by an elbow strike, and then following through with a backhand punch._**

**_Asura Spirit Crescent – The swordsman holds his/her weapon ready for a downward swing, charges in all their chakra into the blade before letting it all out in the form of a cutting wave in that swing._**

**_Nen Cannon – An even more powerful version of "Nen Shot", as it fires an even bigger ball of lightning chakra._**

**_Agni Pentacle – The swordsman sends all glyphs created from "Wave Manifestation Brand" in up to five equidistant positions to create the appropriate number of large balls to smash the opponent at exponentially increasing speed; the technique ends in an explosion._**

**_…_**

**_Songs Used:_**

**_"The Dark Colossus Destroys All" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier"—Angry Hinata_**

**_"Momentary Life" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Guilty Gear X"—Ayakasia vs. Yūsuke_**

**_"Nine Thou (Superstars Remix)" by Styles from Beyond from "Real Steel"—François vs. Kunai genin_**

**_"Orochimaru Battle" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Satsuki and Tsukiko vs. Orochimaru_**

**_"The Game is Over when the Dragon Swims" from "Gundam Wing"—Team Seven and Eleven vs. Orochimaru_**

**_…_**

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Leather Armor—contrary to what most people believe, leather armor has existed for a while now; in fact, it is an early form of armor before bronze came into the picture._**

**_Ankokuji Ekei—the Iwa team leader that attacked the elves was named after a Buddhist priest that was alive around the Sengoku Basara where legends such as Sarutobi Sasuke, Kotaro Fūma, and Hattori Hanzō made names for themselves. Ekei was a diplomat for the Mori samurai clan, and eventually sided with Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his attack on Korea—unfortunately, he would go on to fight Ieyasu Tokugawa in Sekigahara and literally lose his head along with other supporters of Hideyoshi._**

**_"Rendez-vous en enfer, salope!"—this is in French, and it roughly translates to "See you in hell, bitch!"_**


	24. The Curse of Kazan

**_A/N: Now we can proceed! And this update has come rather soon don't you think? I apologize for the Curse-Mark scene by the way, but I plan on making a twist in this story from the original canon when time comes for Valley of the End. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Teams Seven and Eleven…]

Sakura had been keeping watch for the past half hour or so, with not even a stir from any of her charges, all of whom were laid side-by-side. In the meantime, she set up traps around the area, to make sure that nobody would get any closer. Being a part of Mistress Tsukiko's pranks had given her just a bit of experience in such things. True, she was not on the level of that whisker-faced loser (that she was barely starting to like), but she was good enough.

She also knew that the Kyūbi had asked for clothes after waking up. Looking through her inventory, she had a large shirt to cover her modesty, stretchy shorts, an extra pair of sandals, and a two-piece spaghetti-string bikini she had stored away in the event that she was going to take a dip (or attempt to seduce her mistresses). As she studied the red-skinned demon woman, Sakura could not help but find herself envious: the long and powerful legs of a goddess, powerfully-built, and well-toned abdominal muscles that seemed to be chiseled out of some iron-rich rock. Lithe and muscular arms that hid a great deal of power and large, firm breasts that could mesmerize men quite easily and were tailored specifically to her highly athletic build. Long hair the color of snow, pointed ears like those elves for a more streamlined and vulpine appearance, and the regal face of a savage and beautiful queen that scared and bewitched men with the fire carried those ruby eyes of hers. She was quite possibly (in Sakura's opinion) the perfect woman.

The sound of a throat being cleared brought Sakura's attention back to those ruby eyes that ensorcelled her to speechlessness. "If you're done satisfying your curiosity, would you please get me those clothes?"

Sakura obediently scrambled to pick up the clothes she had found for the red-skinned Amazon she had been examining. "Are you kidding me?" asked the woman in disbelief, gingerly picking up the large shirt and inspecting the bikini, "That's all you can get me? And what's with the bikini? Are the Uchiha still continuing their practice of slavery?"

"H-h-how did you know I serve the Uchiha?" asked Sakura, slightly scandalized.

The demoness snorted. "Oh please, I can practically smell the submission wafting off of you. It's a wonder I haven't decided to take you in such a manner that what the twins do to you would be nothing!" she said playfully, slipping on the bikini, "I still recognize the cedar-cinnamon mix that all Uchiha have coming off of you—it's not your native scent, so it was easy to tell that you are their slave. Eh, but what can you do when this is the slave's selection? I suppose I can steal what I need later..."

Sakura could not believe what she was hearing. Before she could open her mouth, Kurama finished getting dressed and put up hand to silence her. "It seems some guests have arrived."

"So you managed to pick up on us," said a voice from above, "You must be very good if you're able to do that."

Sakura looked up to see three forms standing above them in the trees. One was a boy swathed in bandages, wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a fur cape on his back. The second was a girl with long black hair (even longer than Sakura's own) with a bow at the end and a beige vest. The last was a boy with spiked up hair who wore a black long-sleeved shirt under a long-tailed yellow shirt with the kanji for 'death' written four times on it. All three of them wore scarves and pants in urban camouflage, in addition to hitai-ate on their heads with musical notes engraved upon them. _Those are the Genin from that new village…Otogakure was it?_

"If your leader is who I think it is, then I'd recommend leaving right about now," said the demonic woman noncommittally as she stretched, satisfying cracks punctuating the air with every twist as she let out moans of pleasure, not even bothering to face the team, "In fact, I'd disregard any order you have from him involving these five, and tell him to shove it up his cock-hungry ass the next time you see him."

"Listen to me, you bitch!" said the boy in the yellow shirt, shaking off the blush that was forming on his face from the moans, "Orochimaru-sama gave us explicit orders to kill the girls and the guy you're watching over! Now either step aside so that we can do our jobs or you can take your slutty a-"

The boy never finished his sentence. A knee to his stomach delivered by Kurama immediately shut him up as he doubled over in pain, much to the shock of his teammates. From their point of view, the woman didn't move an inch. "I'm sorry," she said insincerely, with a dangerous grin on her face, "But anyone who calls me a whore, bitch, slut, etc. that is not close to my heart or is not someone I am sleeping with will be severely punished. Is there an understanding between us?"

"You can't order me around, you whore! I'm not-"

Once again Kurama acted, spinning around and landing a straight kick to his chest. With a crack, he was sent flying flying into a nearby tree at high speeds. The demon woman relaxed and put her foot down gently. "Oh dear me, it looks like we have a repeat offender here! Didn't his mother ever teach him how to treat a lady?" Her face hardened. "Seriously though, I'm going to warn all of you one more time: if you don't leave right now, there's a good chance that you are all going to die a most violent death, and you will have that asshole you call a leader to blame."

The genin wrapped in bandages looked scandalized for a second, but quickly regained his composure. "I appreciate the warning, but I'm pretty sure we can handle our jobs. Besides, I wouldn't want a beautiful woman such as you getting hurt or risk breaking her nails to kill us."

"Actually, it's not me you should be worrying about," chuckled Kurama, still with her confident grin, "But at least three of your targets will kill you if you don't leave before they wake. If that happens, I promise you it will be an extremely painful experience."

The girl on the Oto team was furious. This woman was obviously wasting their time! With rage clouding her thoughts, she spoke her mind, though she took care to avoid calling her anything vulgar. "Be that as it may, we have some work to do! This does not concern you lady, so why don't you just butt out and leave us be?"

Kurama merely sighed. "I don't think you have much a choice. In fact, you won't have a choice at all in about…now."

As if on cue, Rock Lee made his dynamic entry with a flying kick. The yellow-shirted Genin who had since recovered, received the attack fully to the face. "How un-youthful, attacking an opponent while they are down! Have you no dignity?"

"Look who's talking! The boy who's wearing the homo-jumpsuit!" sneered the bandaged one, "Besides, there's nothing dishonorable about attacking an opponent that's down. That's the reality of the shinobi life! We live for dishonor!"

"I will not have you dishonor the way of the shinobi any longer!" Lee yelled. However, before he could do anything more, the bandaged boy jumped aside. A blast of air roared past him, shearing a tree in half with its force.

"Who gives a fuck about honor or dishonor?" asked the boy in yellow, pointing his arms forward, "What matters is that we are going to kill your freaky ass! Isn't that right, Dosu?"

The bandaged one pulled back his sleeve, revealing a large gauntlet with large holes. Lee charged forward, only to be hit by a right hook from the gauntlet, which made him cough up blood. "I couldn't agree more with you Zaku," said the boy named Dosu, "As I said, we practically live for dishonor! And if it shows these leaf-headed pricks their true place on the food chain, then so be it! Now let's do our job and get the hell out of here!"

Now they could cut to the chase. But before the Oto kunoichi could say a word, her bandaged colleague raised his arm to stop and looked in another direction. "So, the homo busybody came with help," he said, "Don't tell me you're here to stop us too!"

The people nearby stepped from out of the trees. Much to Kurama's amusement, the new guests were Hyūga Neji and Higurashi Tenten, the former with the same condescending, holier-than-thou expression he always had. Tenten on the other hand looked apprehensive. "Actually," said Neji, not taking his eyes off of the bandaged boy, "It would appear that this is out of our hands."

Three screams of pain pierced the air of the clearing, and the Oto-nin looked around, shocked. Both the green-haired girl with the crossbows and the one with tonfa had gotten to their feet, standing guard over the twins and Naruto. The last three writhed and cried with pain as their skin reddened, their teeth and nails sharpened, and as their eyes flared open, they were shown to have turned an angry, glowing scarlet, with black sclera. They stood up clumsily, hunched over still and panting bestially.

Suddenly, Naruto threw back his head and _roared,_ with Tsukiko and Satsuki joining in with their own shrieks of either pain or fury (it was uncertain as to which). The sheer, inhuman force of the sound reverberated throughout the forest.

…

[Team Gaia, at the moment]

Gaia stared dully at the corpses of her latest victims. It was not enough; she needed more. _More! More blood!_ On her command, the sand began creeping towards the bushes to kill the eavesdropping rats when all of a sudden a deep, monstrous roar reached their ears. Gaia flinched, her sand automatically wrapping about her.

Kankuro gulped. "What was that?"

"I've heard roars before," began Temari slowly, "but that was not something I can identify. Whatever it was, I have a bad feeling about it-"

"...away..."

Temari looked at her younger sister and felt the blood drain out of her face. Gaia was shivering, her ringed eyes wide in fear as her sand gathered in a cocoon. "M-mother says we should run away," she stuttered, seemingly shrinking inside her sand, "S-s-she says that it is dangerous…it will kill us m-mercilessly if we run into it…s-she is…she is afraid!"

A sense of dread came over both Kankuro and Temari. Neither of them had ever seen Gaia break her poker face, nor had they ever heard of Shukaku becoming afraid. Sadly, this was not the time to celebrate their sister's new showing of emotion. She was right; whatever monster was out there was _dangerous_, especially if _she_ was scared of it. Fortunately, they had just found the scroll they needed, so if they had to run, they might as well do so in the direction of the tower. Surely they'd be safer there?

Unbeknownst to them, the genin of Team 8 crouched in the bushes. "Thank Kami!" said Kiba, finally relaxing a bit, "I thought that psycho-bitch from Suna was going to kill us for a second."

"I don't think we're out of trouble yet, Kiba," replied Shino, his voice still level despite his obvious fear, "I believe that their idea is the logical one. Whatever it is that has the power to let out a roar this loud is likely to come after us next. I pray to Kami for the soul that runs into them, because my Kikaichu are also afraid."

Akamaru could only agree silently. They needed to get out of here, and fast! Hinata was frozen with fear as she looked in the direction the roar had come from. For some reason, it did more than terrify her; it gave her the feeling that something terrible had just happened. Even as she shook off her fear, she ran with her teammates in the direction of the tower. Yet she could not shake off the feeling that something horrible had just happened to Naruto…

…

[Team Hoki…]

"There's no mistake about it Larva," said the Nanabi no Kabutomushi, "That is the sound of someone who had recently awakened the Curse of Kazan."

His Jinchūriki, a girl with a light tan, green hair, and orange eyes, frowned internally. _How can you be certain of that Chōmei?_ she asked, _How do you know it's not some beast that was injured?_

Chōmei settled down slightly, but the nervousness did not entirely dissipate. "No injury could produce a sound like that, Fū, and you are not ready to face victims of such a horrible curse. We need to run, before we encounter the ones capable of such power."

"Screw this! These exams are not worth it anymore!" shrieked one of her teammates, obviously shaken by the roar earlier, "Hoki, I beg of you, you gotta get us out! I have a feeling that whatever it was that made that sound is bad news!"

"Well, we can't exactly leave _now,_ Shinzo!" snapped back Hoki, "In case you've forgotten, there's a lot of other teams out there willing to kill us. Since we've got both scrolls, we should just get to the tower and hope that we don't run into whatever is out there that made that sound."

"Fuck that! I'm running!" Shinzo turned and ran off, only to almost immediately snap a tripwire, triggering a trap that perforated his body with kunai and shuriken.

Fū and Hoki were instantly on guard, watching as a number of Amegakure ninja emerged from the undergrowth. All grinned at the misfortunate Taki-nin. Hoki cursed. "Shinzo, you stupid coward! I hope you rot in every level of Hell by the time I get to you!"

"Worry about that chicken-shit asshole later, Hoki," replied Fū, tightening the grip on her spear, while creating a small orb of chakra, "Right now we've got bigger fish to fry!"

…

[Team Seven and Eleven]

The roars died down, finally, and were replaced with heavy pants as the three red-skinned Curse Mark victims started marking their targets. The boy in the bandages finally managed to stop shaking long enough to get a good look at the targets he and his team were supposed to kill: two of them had been given the Curse Mark! Impossible! Why would Orochimaru-sama waste his power to brand the five of them with his special mark? This was bad... They needed to get out of there. With a silent command, the bandaged genin nodded to his team to make a break for it when they were intercepted by a large blue dragon apparently made of chakra looping around in front of them. Within seconds, the three of them felt something penetrate them from the back of their knees and then emerge from their kneecaps, causing all three of them to kneel with a cry of pain.

"Did you think we were going to let you leave alive?" asked Kikyo with a savage grin, "What about the blood that needs to be spread?"

"You're not going anywhere," barked Meilan, a golden aura flaring around her. She actually felt a little remorseful as to what would happen next. She petted the chakra dragon affectionately before it dissipated, "At least, not until the master and mistresses are satisfied with your blood!"

The victims of the Curse of Kazan leaped into the fray; the twins rushed Zaku before the boy lifted his arms quickly and fired an extremely large blast of air from his hands shouting "Zankukyokuha!" as he decimated a line of trees in one shot. However, even as the dust settled, Zaku felt each of his arms get pulled back to the back by a pair of arms, and a foot on each side of his shoulder blades. He screamed in pain as the twins pulled harder and harder, before his arms dislocated from the shoulder with a loud 'pop' and a dull 'crack.' Then there was the gruesome sound of flesh and cloth being torn apart. Zaku slumped forward, suddenly without his arms. Dismemberment complete, Satsuki turned the arm around to smack Zaku in the face with his own hand, such that he was knocked onto his back before she proceeded to beat him to death with his own arm, with Tsukiko following suit.

The Oto kunoichi could only watch in horror as Zaku was pounded to a pulp with his own arms. She had to avert her eyes from the violent scene, hoping that Dosu would survive and save them both. Unfortunately, she watched as Naruto stabbed himself with his own nails enough to draw blood. The crimson fluid took on the shape of a handle, which he pulled, the blood flowing out into a jagged blade. He dodged punch after punch that the Oto genin could throw at him until he instinctively found an opening. With a grunt, he ducked under a jab and stabbed his sword through his opponent's chest. After that, he formed another sword, this time from the bandaged Genin's blood, and stabbed him with that. Over and over Naruto formed a new sword, usually out of Dosu's blood, but sometimes out of his own, but always stabbing it brutally into the Oto-nin's torso. Finally, the blood-swords exploded, taking Dosu's upper half with them, leaving his legs to finally collapse.

For as long as she could remember Tenten had loved weapons. She loved the tender loving care that went into forging them and the intimacy involved in maintaining them. What she had just seen Naruto do to that bandaged genin had left her in a state of both awe and horror; to think that there were jutsu that could make such finely-crafted weapons out of blood. Surely only a monster could do that! But as she looked on at Naruto's face, she could not help but feel that there was a pain in those monstrous features that had previously been the boy she loved. The Curse would have to be subdued in order to spare him from more pain, and she had just the solution…she needed to find the right opportunity to pull this off, or else she'd suffer the same fate as that boy over there.

Neji on the other hand was frozen in terror and disgust by what he had just seen. The sheer brutality of the attacks was not lost on him, and so even he was afraid. So the dead last and the Uchiha twins were monsters! He'd find a way to put that beast out of his misery…him and his Uchiha devils. But right now, he needed to run before his team became next on the chopping block. Come to think of it, if all played out as he thought, then he would have poems sung about him—about how he vanquished the savage beast and the Uchiha demons. And then he could rub it in to his pathetic cousin's face that the boy she was enamored with was in fact a monster. A smirk graced his normally stoic face. Yes...that would be quite the treat.

Having finished with their victims, the Uchiha twins and Naruto turned their sights towards Sakura, the Oto kunoichi, and Team Nine. Their snarling most definitely put everyone else on edge as the kill seemed to rejuvenate the three of them. Naruto summoned forth all the spilt blood in the area, causing it to coalesce in his hand before solidifying into a black two-handed sword that seemed to burst at the seams with crimson blood. The twins did the same, except that the both of them only summoned enough blood to form a pair of shorter blades in each of their hands. With one final roar, all three of them split off, with the twins dashing in after the targets in front of them, and Naruto running away deeper into the forest. Just as the twins were about to strike, they were both attacked with a single chop to the neck that knocked them both out. As the collapsed, their skin faded back to its usual color, while their hair darkened, and the swords fell back into puddles of blood. "Didn't I tell you that you would die a most violent death?" asked Kurama, with her attention on the Oto kunoichi, "You have nobody but that stupid pedophile you call a boss to blame. He just _had_ to give the Curse Mark to the wrong people."

The Oto kunoichi's eyes widened. This was Orochimaru-sama's fault? He gave these nobodies the Curse Mark? If so, then why send her team to kill them? Before she could think any further on the subject, Kurama cleared her throat. Kikyo and Meilan moved to flank the Genin, with the former aiming a crossbow between her eyes, and the latter looking ready to start beating her nonstop. "Now, before I go on, may I please have a name?" asked Kurama in a sickly sweet tone.

She cowered. "K-K-Kin…m-m-my name is Tsuchi Kin…"

"Mmhm, well then Kin, here's how this is going to work: you are going to give me your scroll. After you do, I will tell you exactly why your leader sent your team here and I can take you away for some treatment. Deal?"

There was no other option. Her team was already dead, meaning the scroll was meaningless. On top of that, it seemed Orochimaru had intended for them to die from the beginning. This thought process was exactly what Kurama was counting on. The demoness glanced at another female in the group. "You there, Mouse-girl!" she barked, getting Tenten's attention, "What the hell are you waiting for? If you love Naruto-kun as much as I think you do, then you'd better run after him!"

Tenten was curious. Just who was this woman? And how did she know Naruto-kun? No, now was not the time for questions. She realized that the woman was right; she needed to get to Naruto before he hurt anyone else! Ignoring the protests of Neji, Tenten sealed away both Mizu-hime and the short sword she sold Naruto in one of her weapon scrolls, and ran into the forest.

…

[Moments later, with Anko…]

As she ran through the trees of the forest, Anko had a gut feeling something bad was going to happen. She first noted it when she felt her Curse Mark burning, which meant only one thing: that bastard Orochimaru was here and she would be remiss if she didn't charge into the forest looking for him and the sweet taste of vengeance gained by finally killing him.

Midway through her pursuit, a loud roar resounded through the forest which chilled her to the bone; a sound that she attributed to the roar of some kind of beast being in pain. Whatever it was that made that sound, she needed to do this quick before she got mauled by it!

"Kukukuku…well, well, well. If it isn't Anko-chan! It has been a while, hasn't it?"

She knew that voice all too well. The voice that haunted her dreams and caused her nothing but pain. Her time for revenge was at hand. "Not long enough, Orochimaru-_sensei!"_ she said, spitting out the honorific hatefully. Anko turned to see the very evil that took everything away from her, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Orochimaru had not changed a day since she last saw him, save for the injuries that adorned his person, which was all the better in her opinion. That meant her chance to be free of her past would be an easier job now.

"Oh dear, it seems there is bad blood between us," mocked the Snake Sannin, "Don't you remember the good times we used to have Anko-chan? How I made you stronger than the standard genin when I gave you my Mark?"

"When you gave me the Mark, all I got was pain from you, bastard!" yelled Anko, "Now what are you planning?"

"Oh just the usual," taunted Orochimaru, "My quest to learn every jutsu in the world. I found myself with quite an easy solution…the Sharingan!"

Anko's snarl could not have expressed her anger any clearer. "What are you planning to do with Uchiha Sasuke and Tsukiko?"

"Planning? Me?" he asked with mock-innocence. Then his expression turned bestial, "It's already done. Those two have been marked! Not only that, I also gave the Mark to the last Baihe, Shimura-chan, and your precious Naruto-kun as well!"

As the Hebi Sannin laughed maniacally, Anko's rage suddenly ebbed to be replaced by an icy fear. No, this couldn't be! She refused to believe it! "Kukukuku…what's the matter, Anko-chan? Afraid that you'll be replaced in my heart?"

...And just like that, the rage was back. "You can keep that space in your black heart!" she screeched "And I'll make sure Naruto-kun stays away from it as well!"

For the first time in a while, her former sensei's expression actually changed. There was genuine astonishment, before it stretched back into scorn. "So you love the gaki? Strange...from what I understand, you haven't spent much time with him…or have you, _Hebi?_ But going back to the heart of the matter, the other three members of the 'Five Elements', like the Uchiha twins, showed me that they too have _massive_ potential; as you can see, I had to be on the business end of said potential to find that out, and it wasn't easy to tire all five of them out before giving them my mark."

"You're not laying a hand on any of them!" barked Anko, "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Kukukuku…your reactions have been refreshing thus far! The anger…the _fury_! But I'm leaving now, with a message for Sarutobi-sensei: 'if you cancel the exams for any reason, I'll kill everyone taking it!'" As he sank into the earth, Orochimaru laughed darkly.

However, his laughter (along with his escape) was interrupted by a tackle from behind. As he stumbled, an immensely strong hand seized him by the back of the head and hurled him away. Orochimaru landed heavily and rolled to the side as a massive blade slammed down on the branch next to him. Rather than being bisected by the attack, he only received a gash on his arm that bled profusely.

Quickly, he drew his Kusanagi no Tsurugi. However, he had no opportunity to attack with it and was forced to dodge the vicious swipes from the large sword. Finally Orochimaru gained a foothold from a block and began striking back with his own sword. There was a moment where their blades locked and the Sannin was surprised to see that his assailant was Uzumaki Naruto. The boy had gone berserk, his skin a bright red. As startling and ferocious that attack was, Orochimaru found himself impressed despite himself. The blond (Or white-haired, now) Jinchūriki was quite skilled; he had already advanced his Curse Mark, somehow without the processes he himself had created to stimulate and accelerate it. Naruto's attacks were all much faster and stronger, and seemed to grow more so over time. In fact, the strength and speed increase seemed to grow in proportion to the blood that left his wounds. Naruto's recoveries were also a bother; every hit Orochimaru landed was quickly paid back with interest.

While the battle raged on between Orochimaru and Naruto, Anko watched in disbelief. Her former sensei was being practically dominated by a boy with a sword far larger than the infamous Kusanagi no Tsurugi. To think that this was the Naruto-kun she had watched grow up…the one she'd spent time with once in a while during her stint in the ANBU, when she was called Hebi. And she could tell that this was Naruto because of the whisker-marks on his cheeks (hard as they were to see), the hitai-ate being used as a blindfold, and the heavy shackles on his left arm, but it was as if he had become a monster that lived only for bloodshed; something that would have turned her on to no end were it not for the fact that this was not the Naruto that she loved. Every swing of the blade, every moment he recovered to counterattack, it was as though he were moving solely on instinct, such that Orochimaru could not avoid as easily anymore.

Before long, Orochimaru found a way to level the playing field so he could escape! He watched as Naruto charged in with that massive sword of his, and waited for the perfect moment. As soon as the blind genin swung his blade in an attempt to disembowel him, the Hebi Sannin flipped into the air over it and with all the strength he could muster, sliced the zanbatō in half. He smiled as he saw the cut off half fell to the floor and turned to blood. His satisfaction turned to dismay as Naruto merely roared and jab himself in the chest with his sharp claws. Once more his blood flowed and solidified into the form of a handle, then the blade, and finally the tip before the wound closed up. Then Naruto jabbed the half of the first zanbatō into the pool of blood and instantly repaired it. Now Orochimaru had to deal with two massive swords as the blind genin charged in, and his strikes even faster now that he wielded two blades.

Orochimaru could not believe his eyes. This student of GSD was similar to Kimimaro, in that he could form weapons from blood, as well as regenerate from any damage taken! Oh, the possibilities...if only he could temper that apparently constant state of rage Naruto-kun was stuck in and claim his body, then not only could he learn his master's techniques and kenjutsu style, but he would also have control over blood! Not to mention the irony of fighting GSD with his own student's jutsu. Oh, he'd have many opportunities to claim the body. Just not now, right now he needed to escape. However, before he could plan ahead, one of Naruto's Blood-Swords made it past one of Orochimaru's evasive maneuvers and sliced into his stomach. Naruto grinned predatorily and channeled mana through the blade, detonating the weapon. Orochimaru exploded with great force, only for his body parts to turn to mud almost immediately. The blind Genin roared angrily as his opponent vanished, but paused. He turned his attention to Anko and sniffed the air, as if deciding whether or not to make her his next target.

**"Draw!"**

Naruto leaped to the side, avoiding a set of shimmering black swords, which slammed into the branch before fading away. "Now what's an angry fellow like you doing with a sword that size?" drawled Len Ferro, emerging from the leaves, "You're not just using that to compensate for something, are you?" Naruto roared back. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Be careful Len," said Ayakasia warningly, "You do remember what Minet said about untrained Berserkers don't you?"

Len smiled as he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve. "Aye, but relax 'kasia. I can handle myself well. And as long as we stay calm, these babies won't target us and I'll be able to settle this quickly...I hope."

Both François and Ayakasia knew that when Len chose to actually rely on his weapons, things tended to go their way. Nevertheless, François drew her combat knives and took a stance. For once, she thought more of survival than her fashion as she remembered their sensei's teachings. Minet was far older than she looked, old enough to remember the days when the Slayer population was greater and the Curse of Kazan was infectious. She told them that if they should ever encounter a Slayer who had gone berserk, they should expect damn near anything from them. She most harshly warned them to _never_ enter battle with them while bleeding. The blood would set off the Berserker and give them a dangerous advantage, for they could forge weapons out of blood and increase their strength.

Naruto gave out a loud bark and used his free hand to jab himself in the chest, creating another large sword from his blood. "Geez, you're really making this harder on yourself," sighed Len. He pulled out a small scroll and unrolled it, releasing a pair of swords that he grabbed instantly. Both were identical in shape, slightly resembling scimitars but more jagged and dangerous. One sword was black, the other white, and both had three eyes on each side. They quivered in Len's hands, actually causing his arms to shake as they seemed to strain in the air, the eyes rolling and darting madly. "I'm serious," Len hissed at his teammates, gritting his teeth, "Don't make any offensive movements. The Twins only know the difference between 'attack' and 'don't attack,' nothing about allies or enemies." He crouched, his lips pulling back in a snarl almost as vicious as Naruto's, but...

"Wait!" called out a voice. The elves looked around to see Higurashi Tenten, huffing and puffing as she stopped, "Don't…I beg you…don't kill him…"

Ayakasia noted that she was carrying a small briefcase in her arms. "Girl, this is none of your business. We've got to stop that kid before he goes out to kill everyone in the exams!"

"I…I know about the Curse of Kazan," said Tenten, still panting from running all the way as she opened the briefcase to show its contents to the elves, "my dad just made a set of limiters for N-Naruto. I just need you to pin him down so that I can get them on his right arm."

Ayakasia briefly looked to her colleagues inquiringly. The question was quite clear between the three of them. "I'm not sure if we can," Len said shakily, still gripping his swords tightly, "The Feral Twins...won't go back into s-storage willingly...not until the 'challenge' is over. These weapons are for killing, n-not subduing. I don't think I can..."

"And what about Roxy?" asked François, appalled at Len's momentary thoughtlessness, "Don't you remember what happened then? Well, I do. I believe if there's a chance to save a victim from going uncontrollably berserk, I say we take it and save ourselves the unnecessary bloodshed. I don't want another person to suffer the same fate as her."

Len let out a grunt of effort and his arm actually jerked towards his teammate, the black sword letting out an audible snarl. "Right...here's a new rule: no guilt-trips while these things are out!" He took a deep breath to suppress the feral bloodlust of his weapon and looked at Ayakasia. "I'm only...giving you my opinion on how this'll end, but...seeing as you're our unofficial leader, it's your call."

"Unfortunately for you Len, you're beaten two to one. We're pinning the sucker down," said Ayakasia, before she turned her attention to Tenten, "You get ready. But remember, if we do this, you owe us big."

Tenten nodded, her resolve unshaken.

The three elves ran straight toward Naruto. Len took charge, unleashing a howl of fury that matched Naruto's, swinging his Feral Twins to meet both of Naruto's Blood-swords. All three found themselves in a brutal storm of deadly metal and blood. Even with their agility, the heavy slashes were barely ducked under and the savage thrusts were only barely sidestepped. Minet had mentioned before that Berserkers could be fast, but not _this_ fast! That only applied to the Dark Elves of the team, though. While Len was only marginally less agile than his teammates, dodging was the absolute last thing on his mind. As long as he held his blades, there was room for only one thought: _Attack!_ The High Elf roared with as much fury as Naruto, his black and white blades a blur as he slashed and hacked repeatedly, blocking the black and red blood-swords without a worry as he tried his very best to tear into the Berserker's flesh. Each time sword met sword, the edge of the Feral Twins bit deeply into the edge and body of Naruto's swords, damaging them far more heavily than a normal sword would.

Finally, Len's head cleared enough to allow him to jump back, joining his teammates as they retreated momentarily. All of them bore small scratches; however, unlike Ayakasia and François's normal crimson blood their third teammate bled the bright, viscous silver of Mercury. Grimacing at his own wounds, he quickly pulled out his scroll and sealed the Twins away again. Then he immediately pointed at Naruto. **"Bind!"** Instantly black chains materialized and bound Naruto to his tree. The Jinchūriki roared, whether with anger or pain, it was unclear with the jagged wounds Len had inflicted on him. Even as they watched, they steamed and began to heal over. "Oh, that's not fair!" the large elf complained, "Why can't I heal like that?" He sighed and glanced at Ayakasia and Françoise. "I don't think he can use mine, but since he's drawn your blood, we should probably finish up, yeah? I'm tired from using those two, so the chain'll probably hold for another minute or so."

"Since your blood can't be used to make weapons for him," said Ayakasia, "It's probably better that you do this yourself."

"Such faith in me," Len sighed, "Alright, I'll see what I can do." He pulled out Pendolo and shrugged off his trench coat. He spun the watch on its chain for a second before performing some strange maneuver with it. The chain lengthened greatly and whirled, twining neatly up his right arm, then down again with the watch itself coming to rest on the back of his hand. **"Pendolo: Egida,"** he announced.

He jumped to Naruto's branch and, with a gesture, dispelled the chain. Instantly the Berserker charged, throwing one sword high in the air and swinging at Len with brutal speed. The blood-sword struck the watch with a clang and bounced off. The elves noticed as the chain pulsed at the impact. Roaring with anger, Naruto swung the sword furiously, only for Len to deflect it again with his right arm. Another pulse in the chain. Quickly growing frustrated, Naruto began swinging his sword viciously, trying to cut into the large young man before him. Unlike before, Len did not retaliate in the slightest; he only kept blocking with his right hand, and the sword did not even leave a scratch on the metal surface. All the while, the chain on his arm began glowing brighter and brighter as it absorbed the force behind the blows. However, Len was being forced to back up; his opponent's attacks were so frequent and fast that he had no opportunity to strike back. The force building up in his chain could be released for a devastating attack, but would leave him unable to defend while he did so. He needed to find an opportunity...it wasn't long until his back hit something hard and sharp and he cursed. The sword Naruto had thrown earlier had come down behind him, trapping him with the Berserker. _Shit...let's see, do I keep building up power and get a sword up my ass? Or do I get skewered? What to do..._ Then he had an idea. It wasn't a particularly good one, but he could definitely pull it off.

Naruto thrust his sword forward, and this time Len actually moved into its path. The black and red blade stabbed harshly into the flesh of his abdomen and he gasped, silvery blood oozing from the wound. Naruto made a small noise of confusion when the blood did not flow to become a new weapon. He gripped the sword and tugged, trying to retrieve it to attack again. However, the sword would not budge an inch. "That hurt," growled Len, as the light began to flow down the chain's length into the watch, making his fist glow incandescently, "here, _why don't you just sit down?!"_ Before Naruto could back away, Len punched him hard in the stomach. The force of over a dozen Berserker-strength sword strikes, driven by an iron-and-lead fist, slammed into his gut, breaking a couple of ribs and forcibly removing the air from Naruto's lungs. The blind Jinchūriki experienced a moment of rapid backwards motion, followed by an even greater impact as he smashed into the tree behind him hard enough to punch a large hole in it. Len grimaced as he felt the sword in his gut liquefy back into blood. **"Hōden Kaeshi,"** he muttered, "Alright, do it!" he yelled at Tenten.

The bun-haired girl immediately ran to Naruto with both limiters ready. She clamped one on his left wrist and the other on his bicep. Naruto flinched unconsciously before his hair returned to its usual sun-kissed blond and the redness receded from his skin, until only both arms were red. Len's teammates ran over to him to see if he was alright. He just waved them off and drank some weird, metallic liquid, which stopped the bleeding. "Least he didn't hit any vitals," Len told them under his breath.

With a nod, the elves turned to leave; they had other things to do after all. But Ayakasia turned to face Tenten, who was now bandaging her charge. "Don't forget, you owe us. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but we'll come to collect on that favor." With that said, the elf team left Tenten with Naruto's head on her lap running her fingers through his hair in a consoling manner.

"What...the hell?" asked Anko. Tenten yelped in surprise and looked around, having not even noticed her before.

…

**_A/N: We're getting the Preliminaries at a good speed aren't we?_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Class Introduction:_**

**_Battle Mage—a mage that specializes in close-quarters fighting graduates to become a Battle Mage…they tend to favor the spear or the pole, and are best played with leather armor. Battle Mages enjoy making use of energy spheres called 'chasers' to buff themselves and to attack the enemy. Eventually, they will learn "Teana Transformation" which will further buff them and change their attacks. Fū is considered as a Battle Mage, while it is uncertain as to whether or not Moegi will be one._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Frenzy—the Berserker's super-mode; as long as it is active, health is drained at a steady rate but all attacks and recoveries for counterattacks are faster, become double-hit attacks, and have a chance to cause bleeding. Enemies that have been killed while bleeding heal the Berserker._**

**_Mountainous Wheel—the Berserker leaps into the air for a heavy downwards slash, has a chance to cause bleeding._**

**_Diehard—the Berserker's active healing skill, which gives them the nickname "Cockroach" among Korean gamers. The technique only works as long as the Berserker is low on health, and is one of the skills that uses mana instead of health._**

**_Blood Sword—the Berserker summons blood into his/her hand to create a sword and stabs it into the opponent, causing it to explode._**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

**_"Asura Unleashed" by Chiyako Fukuda from "Asura's Wrath"—the slaughter of the Oto team_**

**_"Bad Situation" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Naruto vs. Orochimaru_**

**_"Blood Pain" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue"—Naruto vs. Team Minet_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Hōden Kaeshi—Len's jutsu, translates to "Discharge Return"_**


	25. To the Tower!

**_A/N: Whew, this is a long chapter! I've decided to introduce a new character here. She'll have a role to play later in the story, especially what she's going to do during the three-year time-skip. Also, to all you Sakura-lovers and nit-pickers who question as to what Sakura is doing here, I will have to point out to you that until after the Chūnin Exams and during Shippūden, she was nothing but dead weight—she's useless now, but I plan to follow canon as closely as possible. Also since I've had Choji starting a band, I will take song requests. Do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Naruto and Tenten…]

It was almost four hours since the scary proctor woman had left, but Tenten chose to cherish this moment. She had Naruto's head on her lap, wistfully stroking his sun-kissed blond hair as he slept. Not too long ago, the color was closer to a whitish blond; a savage cream color, similar in a way to the snowy gray of the Uchiha twins. But now it was the same bright yellow as always, as if she were petting a fox with golden fur. Would he always have the potential to become a bloodthirsty savage? Still, without a doubt she knew that no matter how monstrous he became, he would always be the Naruto-kun she loved deep inside. Perhaps this was how Meilan felt when she herself comforted him on the day he got Mizu-hime from Masamune.

Looking down at his sleeping features, it brought a smile on her face as she realized how truly fox-like Naruto was. It made her happy as to the possible future that Tenten would have with him. Then her eye caught the red left arm. The way it ended in five claws that looked ready to rip her apart at a moment's notice, like it's neighbor. She also remembered exactly who it was that made it so that Naruto was cursed in the first place. In all honesty, when she first heard that her Uncle Manten had tried to kill a little boy with the family heirloom and was killed for it, she'd thought that her father was going mad. There was no way that her kind and sweet uncle was capable of such an atrocity! But then, she did suspect something was wrong between the brothers when her father scared her uncle away for playing with her at the time. It was not until her father told her in a grim voice that the boy he hurt was in the hospital at the time, and under ANBU guard that she started to somewhat believe him. When she got there to see for herself, she understood what her father _hadn't_ told her. Not only did her uncle try to kill a little boy, he tried to kill a little boy she'd recently befriended!

After that, a cloud of guilt continuously followed Tenten everywhere she went—even before Naruto returned to Konoha, she felt bad about what her uncle did. She felt even worse that she was even related to that monster and he did not know it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Naruto finally stirred. "T-Tenten? That you? What happened?" he asked blearily, "I feel like I was torn apart and then stitched back together with a very dull needle."

"It's okay," she said, continuing to comfort him even as he propped himself up and turned to face her, "You've been out for almost four hours. We're separated from our teams at the moment. Do you remember anything?"

Naruto's brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember. "Not much, I remember being in a dream where I turned…" at this point, he was interrupted upon hearing the sound of heavy chains rattling the second he moved his right arm with a small amount of difficulty due to the weight that was placed on it, eliciting a flinch and a gasp from him. He then started running his fingers slowly from his right elbow up to his wrist until he hit a metal surface—no, it couldn't be! And as though he were wishing what he felt were not true, he continued to run his fingers over the thick band to the back of his right hand. Even though the sounds of nature were dominating the environment, he could hear the sound of a door slamming shut with a loud and heavy 'bam' the very second he felt that at the tip of his right fingers were sharp claws, causing him to pale upon coming to a very dreadful realization: that was not a dream.

The tremors soon followed as a wave of memories had come to the forefront of his mind; a red haze, bestial roars, the violent murder of a bandaged genin, savagely attacking Orochimaru, attacking the elf team, and they all caused a heavy pounding in his mind as he remembered each moment. Tenten moved in to embrace Naruto only to watch as he flinched away from her touch. "G-g-get away from me," he said, "I'm too dangerous!"

Tenten moved in slowly with her hands in a placating gesture, while also ready to pounce at a moment's notice. "Naruto-kun, it's okay…"

"No it's not!" interrupted Naruto, backing away with every step closer that Tenten took, "I am now the monster that everyone in this kami-forsaken village seems to think I am! One taste of blood, or if my limiters somehow come off, and I'll turn into a monster!"

Without warning, both genin jumped; Naruto in a motion of fleeing, and Tenten in pursuit. The weight of the Weapons Mistress quickly bore down the back of her target. She managed to sum up as much of her strength as she could and wrestled Naruto into the ground in the span of three seconds. It was not easy for her to try and hold him down; she could tell from the way that he was wriggling to get free that he was a lot stronger than he looked. Still, she'd wrestled down bandits at least double his height and bulk before hogtying them. It was no surprise he was this strong; it took a lot of strength to wield a zanbatō in two hands, much less one.

As kinky and enjoyable a position she was in, Tenten knew that this was not the time for sexual fantasies. She needed to pacify him before her arms became too tired to hold, and before Naruto destroyed himself in his own despair. "It's not your fault!" she managed to say, trying her hardest to hold onto a still-wriggling Naruto without a dirty thought, "You couldn't have known what that asshole Orochimaru would've done! And I don't care if you become a monster, you will always be Naruto-kun to me!"

All efforts at escaping eventually slowed to a stop when Naruto realized that resistance was futile. "I could kill you," he protested, depression heavy in his voice as he finally relaxed his muscles in resignation, "I could rip your heart out with my bare hands if I go berserk again."

"My father knows about your condition and explained to me the burden riding on your arms," Tenten began as she finally released Naruto. She stroked his hair, "Even if that were to happen, then I would not blame you. I could never hate you."

"And you'd put your trust in me?"

"I would."

"Even if I killed you, would you still want me as a friend?"

That last word bit at Tenten momentarily, but she made her resolve clear. "No matter what you do to me, no matter what you become, I will never hate you. The only ones I would hate are the people that would willingly use the curse to do bad things, and the one who inflicted the Curse of Kazan upon the world in the first place."

At last, Naruto allowed himself a though other than self-loathing. The curse was a hindrance to him, and now the twins, that much was true and always would be. But in a way, they all had a choice in the matter for how they used their power. Perhaps he could be strong; if not for the village, then for everyone that needed him. He finally relaxed. he had some apologies to make—but first he had to find the others. "Thank you, Tenten," he finally murmured, "I think you can let go of me now."

Tenten turned hot and red with embarrassment before she scrambled to let go. "Sorry," she said, before remembering something else, "Oh yeah, you'll need these!" At this point, she unrolled a scroll, ran a finger across the most recent line, and summoned Mizu-hime and a chakra-reactive short sword.

"You brought them?"

"Of course. A good swordsman is never too far away from his swords."

Naruto placed Mizu-hime back on his right hip, and the short sword resting on his lower back with a happy grin. "You're the best friend a guy can ask for Tenten, which is why you are one of my precious people. I hope we can see each other again more often after these exams."

At that, Tenten felt guilty, hearing herself being called a 'best friend' after what her uncle did. But it filled her heart with joy to know that she was important enough to be considered precious to him. It also filled her with hope, that she would be considered important enough to be considered a lover one day. Before she could think of anything else, she just remembered something. "Oh yeah, I have a message for you from the proctor Anko," she said, "She said to watch yourself and she wants to speak with you as soon as you get to the tower."

Naruto turned his head in Tenten's general direction, curious. What was it that Anko wanted to see him about? Pushing such thoughts aside for later, the two of them ran and back-tracked to where Teams Seven and Eleven were.

…

[Teams Seven and Eleven…]

The twins stirred fitfully as they both awoke. Uchiha Tsukiko and her older twin Satsuki looked at the area around them, their heads throbbing. "Do you...remember anything sis?" groaned the younger twin, quite confused.

"I remember Kikyo getting bitten by Orochimaru," began Satsuki, trying to remember everything, "And then I..."

"What?"

"I tried to save you from Orochimaru, who was biting you. He was using you as a shield. I felt something prick my neck and after that, nothing."

"I…" before she could say any more, Tsukiko noted that her sister was staring at her with a pale face. "What?"

"Tsukiko, your arm…"

The younger Uchiha twin looked down. Her left arm from the shoulder down was a dark, flushed red. As she lifted and inspected the hand, she saw that it ended in five deadly digits, much to her horror. As she looked at her older sister, she too noticed something. "Nee-chan, yours is...!"

Satsuki did the same, and horror crossed her face when she saw that she too had a demonic red arm. "What's happened?"

No sooner than she asked, a torrent of memories came flooding back to both twins, assaulting them with headaches. They were memories of murder, violence, bloodshed, and a red haze that seemed to obscure the whole thing.

"He's worse off than the two of you now," said a stoic voice, interrupting them from their thoughts, "Compared to him, your cases are much easier to take care of—but Naruto's burden is even greater thanks to that idiot that bit you."

The twins looked, and found the source of the voice. It was Kurama, flanked by a concerned Kikyo and Meilan, plus a terrified genin they could not identify with a bloody bandage around her left knee. Satsuki was the one to break the silence. "Did you…"

"No," answered the red-skinned demoness, knowing exactly what she was going to ask, "I was kicked out of my home by my 'father' Kazan, who you may or may not know as the Jūbi. So I was forced out of Naruto-kun's body. Because of that, now Naruto will become a bloodthirsty killer if the limiters are suddenly removed, which is why we have to find him and Higurashi-chan immediately."

Now the urgency of the situation dawned on the genin present. Neji, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity—limiters eh? So that meant the monster he'd seen butchering the Oto team with the Uchiha demons had a weakness, and so would they!

"Before we go, I have a warning for the two of you," said Kurama seriously, "Since neither of you have a limiter, you have to be careful to not swallow any blood, or get into a fight for longer than five minutes. Otherwise the Curse of Kazan will take effect and you will be turned into mindless killing machines until someone knocks the both of you out."

"I think that can be managed," said a voice from beyond the tree-line, "Perhaps we could all benefit by staying together for now."

The bespectacled boy from before the first Exam, Yakushi Kabuto, emerged from the surrounding forest. Kurama didn't need to see the boy to know that something was fishy about him, his scent in particular. "That's generous," she said curtly, "But I highly doubt you'd offer to help us without something in it for yourself. So what do you want?"

"Nothing in particular," replied Kabuto, with an innocent look on his face, "I just lost my team, and need help finding them. We agreed to meet at the tower if we were ever lost."

Kurama said nothing but glared mistrustfully. She circled him, looking for even the slightest sign of deceit. For a long time, Kabuto felt actual fear. He could tell from her movements that the red-skinned woman was at least at his level, if not higher.

"Alright then, let's join up," she said finally, "This way, Team Eleven and I will find Naruto, Team Nine finds Tenten, and you will get us all to the tower to meet your team. It's a win-win situation."

Satsuki and Tsukiko looked at each other with determination in their eyes. Kikyo and Meilan shared in their agreement before looking towards Neji, who simply sighed in disgust. "Much as I hate to admit it, the cavewoman is correct," he said reluctantly, earning a dangerous look from Kurama, "We'll have to work together in order to find our missing teammates. For now, we are allies, but afterwards we shall all be enemies in this exam!"

With a nod of agreement, everybody started walking, except for Rock Lee who was slung over Neji's shoulder, and Kurama who stayed behind with a very terrified Kabuto in her sights. As she hefted Kin over her shoulder (much to the Kunoichi's silent, indignant outrage and embarrassment) with one hand, she used her other hand to make the universal 'I'm watching you' sign. Once it was clear that he understood, she smiled—a grim, fanged smile to make it clear to the bespectacled genin that betrayal would not be tolerated. He could only imagine the consequences of such things.

After having a small laugh at his expense for almost tripping on a root as he cowered away from her, Kurama followed the other teams. They had to hurry. The time limit was drawing close, after all…

…

[Team Ten…]

It was a really lucky for the Genin of Team Ten. They'd managed to ambush a team for their Heaven Scroll and had finally found the opportunity to rest halfway toward the tower in the center of the forest. They'd managed to kill a large wild chicken for food earlier and were in the process of cooking it now—Shikamaru had barely brought anything in his storage scroll save for a toothbrush, Ino only had three ration bars (which the three of them had to share), and Choji had just finished his last bag of chips.

As she looked wistfully into the fire as it cooked through the meat of the chicken, she began to think. Questions that had had no opportunity to be asked before were now being given priority. However, one question popped to the forefront of her mind—one that was being contemplated by all three members of the team. "What do you think made that sound, Shika?" she asked, earning a sigh of annoyance from the Nara boy.

"To be honest, I have no clue," drawled Shikamaru, "But whatever it was sounded like it was hurt. Don't ask me why, I just have a feeling that there was genuine physical pain in it."

Choji was not an animal-person, but he could not help but agree with Shikamaru. If anything, he felt both fear and pity for whatever made that sound. "You don't think it's a beast that got hurt do you?"

"Maybe," yawned Shikamaru, "But it's not our problem, at least not now. Look, let's just eat and rest before we get to the tower. The sooner we get there, the less we'll have to worry about getting hurt by whatever's out there. Who has the first watch?"

At this point, Ino stood up. "I'll do it. I'm not that hungry yet anyway."

"I'll relieve you when the chicken is ready," added Choji, "And Shikamaru will get the last watch?"

The Nara boy gave a wave of noncommittal followed by a 'yeah, yeah' as he finally took a nap. As Ino walked away from the campfire, she began to think back on the sight she'd seen earlier; on the way to this location, she'd seen a snake biting a blind fox in the paw. She was about to help the poor thing before she saw it go wild and butcher the snake that bit it, then a few birds, and some mice, before it finally succumbed to the venom and died. Then came the roar she and her team had heard, prompting the three of them to find a hiding/resting place.

The second she sat down to start the first shift, Ino could not help but think as to what it was that she saw. Was it an omen? If so, then what was it telling her? Then it hit her that the fox reminded her of Naruto…but what did it mean? As she thought more and more of the possibilities, she found herself horrified and disturbed by her train of thought. She shook her mind clear of such grim thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand; when she saw Naruto-kun again, she'd find out.

…

[Somewhere in Tetsu no Kuni…]

A girl with cream-colored hair sat in her drafting room, writing out the measurements of her latest work of art. She wore a white kimono made of double-woven silk. She kept a decorated tortoiseshell chopstick in the bun of her hair that continued on as a pigtail. She also wore baggy pants with various pockets, and large round glasses that framed her deep sapphire eyes. To the naked eye, she was a beautiful genius hard at work inventing something on the drawing board. As she took a moment to pause, she picked up her coffee for another sip. She only had a few more finishing touches before she could…'wham!'

Oh the horror! All that hard work, ruined! Something hard hit her hand and made the coffee cup lurch, spilling the beverage all over her blueprints. Ignoring the pain of the hot coffee that had spilled onto her lap (ruining both her kimono and pants), the girl grit her teeth in fury. Not only was her coffee pretty much gone, but all the hard work she'd put in over the past, tireless week was now totally ruined. And she knew _exactly_ who to blame.

It was a small basketball-sized robot with a propeller on the top, small wings at the side, and legs on the bottom of its spherical body. Its face had two large glowing blue eyes and a small rectangular slit for a mouth. These little machines were common among the Saika clan; their purpose was mainly to serve as assistants to the clan members that built them. In fact, their construction was a rite of passage to those members of the clan that devoted themselves to the art of the mechanical engineer and gunsmith. This little machine practically trembled in fear, apparently knowing how much trouble it was in.

She practically steamed with rage as she glanced down at the little robot, with a very strained and dangerous smile. The dark chuckle she let out only enhanced the robot's artificial sense of dread. "Well aren't you brave, making me spill coffee all over my blueprints?" she hissed.

The response came in a quick series of clicks, whirs, and beeps that filled the air of the otherwise silent room. The Butler-model Mobile Assistant robots, and all other Saika-manufactured robots for that matter, spoke in this improvised machine language. She was not well-versed in understanding what the robot was saying completely (which she was embarrassed to admit to the rest of her clan members in her field of study), but she understood enough to catch the gist of it. "I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS IF YOU'RE SORRY OR NOT!" screeched the girl at the robot. "I TOLD YOU HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF FUCKING TIMES NOT TO DO THAT! I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO BE MORE CAREFUL, YOU THINK-SPONGE-LESS WASTE OF SCRAP METAL!"

The robot quailed under the tirade, even as its mistress let out a frustrated sigh, placing one arm under her modest bust as the other massaged her temples. Her voice had calmed down to a growl. "Just give me a fucking good reason why I shouldn't throw your metal ass into the incinerator and replace you right fucking now. And no Machine-speak this time! You know how much I suck at it!"

"M-m-my apologies madam," stuttered the robot in the girl's mind, starting to calm down its voice even though there was fear in its tone, "But Master Carlos has sent a message. He seemed to be very…agitated, which is odd for him."

"Damn that impatient, ass-faced, son of a bitch!" grumbled the girl angrily, knowing exactly what it was that Carlos was likely going to be stomping up to her drawing room for, before turning her attention back to the robot, "You're damn lucky on the following counts, Gear: one, I did my god damn work in pencil and was almost done anyway. Two, I need you to get me some materials—ten hardened bamboo boards, a bamboo barrel, strong metal springs, some 11.5mm rounds, and a lot of bamboo parts. Do it now before I change my god damn mind and turn you into a coffee machine!"

"Y-yes madam!" The little robot lifted itself into the air and started to fly away. It would be the worst insult if the mistress actually followed through on her threat. It just so happened that the mistress's eyes had followed the little robot out the door—and then paused on a photograph. With the sight came memories as to why exactly she had yet to carry out her threat…

…

[Flashback, almost four years ago…]

The Saika district was quite possibly the most technologically advanced region in the world, rivaled only by Yukigakure. It is said that the ancestors of the Saika clan came from a whole different world altogether, and that the technology they have produced would have changed the world if they ever decided to share it. Rumors of firearms, the use of chakra for an electrical power source, advanced karakuri dolls... So many wonders have been theorized that would have hurtled the clan light years into the future if they were true.

As he walked through the crowd on a stroll with an improvised bokken strapped to his back, Naruto could hear exactly why the Saika clan was known to be highly advanced: there was the creaking of gears, whirring servomotors, the whine of electrical devices being turned on, even the wayward 'bang!' of the clan's prized riflemen at target practice with their matchlocks. "This place is amazing!" said Meilan with excitement, "Oh, I wish you could see everything they've got here!"

"Well, take it in," said Naruto with a smile, "I just hope we still have time to train. GSD-sensei wanted me to learn this technique properly."

"Don't worry, you've earned some time off! And besides…" Meilan was interrupted when Naruto raised a hand to her mouth gently. "I hear something approaching."

There was a sudden whir and something small shot through the air, colliding with Meilan's breast. She looked down and saw a basketball-shaped robot with a propeller on top of its head. "THERE YOU ARE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Meilan looked up and in the direction of the female voice belonging to a cream-haired blonde girl with glasses in a white kimono running in their direction. The robot had trembled in fear momentarily before flying behind her before she caught the robot and held it in a protective hug—which seemed to calm the robot just a bit.

"You thought you could get away huh, you little fucker?" asked the bespectacled girl as she panted, although doing her best to keep up a sneer, "Well you're getting your punishment, and there's no running away from your creator!"

"How dare you!" exclaimed Meilan, as she grabbed the robot tighter in her cleavage, "Picking on something as small and weak like this! What did he ever do to you?"

"You stay out of this, bitch!" barked the girl, stomping towards Meilan and jabbing a finger at the spherical bot, "This is between me and Mr. Coffee-spiller!"

"What'd you…"

Before she could say another word, Naruto grabbed her by the shoulder. "Relax," he said, before turning his attention to the girl with glasses, "There's no need for violence. Neither is there any need for such harsh language. You can have the little guy back—but if I hear of you mistreating him again, I will punish you just as much!"

Even though the robot was returned to her and the couple turned away, the sneer on the girl's face was clear. "Well, you've certainly got a pair! Do you even know who you're threatening, jackass?"

Meilan glanced at Naruto, who merely shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." The girl stared openmouthed: the stranger blew her off unconcernedly. No one had ever, _ever_ talked back to her like that before, nor shown such casual disregard.

…

[Tetsu no Kuni, present day…]

As she sat down with the parts being assembled, the young Saika continued to think back to those days. If it weren't for Gear, she wouldn't have met that first person who was willing to stand up to her. Before she met him, she was a spoiled brat (as much as she hated to admit it), and quite enjoyed having her way. She didn't know what was so damn interesting about that boy; he was blind, apparently well-learned in terms of street smarts, had a red mutated arm (which she found exotic), but other than that there wasn't much special about him. Then again, the fact that he stood up to her was what made her come to his training ground on her breaks, watching him swing that bokken upward in an attempt to perform one of those jutsu that she'd heard about to no avail.

As she assembled the firing mechanism for the barrel, she remembered the day after. It was just shortly after he'd stopped to take a break that the young Saika dragged the boy away with the aid of a few of her robots…taking care to make it so that her rival was unaware he was gone. After resigning himself to his fate, the two of them sat down and had lunch together. Apparently, the boy was named Uzumaki Naruto, and he was training to become strong to protect everyone he loved and loved him back. To be honest, she was bored of hearing that reason—and yet at the same time she could not help but admire people who were willing to go that far. After that, she had introduced herself: she was Saika Sayaka—daughter of head Mechanic Saika Yumi and the samurai captain Toshiro and niece of Saika Shigehide, the current Magoichi of the clan and the samurai general Mifune.

Naruto's response was simple. "I don't really care about that," he said, much to her surprise, "I only care about who you are as a person."

This then led to an argument between the two of them that made Sayaka realize that she thoroughly enjoyed speaking to a person that did not kiss her ass. Unfortunately, the fun ended when that muscle-headed bimbo he travelled with stormed her house with Gear, who willingly led her. As she watched muscle-girl take Naruto back, with a jealous look in her eyes, she found herself returning that jealousy…an act she'd never thought she'd do herself.

After that day, she kept coming back to that training area where Naruto was swinging his bokken upward, for their daily argument. Sayaka was even there when she saw Masamune-san (Kami rest his soul) leave Naruto with his latest work. Later, as she watched him perform moves, she wondered if they were possible with bullets. Unknowingly, her arguments with Naruto led to her being less spoiled, and having a better relationship with the rest of her clan and all robots she built (even though the latter still preferred that muscle-headed bitch Meilan over her). Everything was good; the arguments soon became philosophical discussions and learning experiences of each other, Naruto was starting to call her by name (instead of 'cursing robot girl'). Relations had improved ever so slightly with Meilan with a few lunches, to the point that the outright dislike had become a somewhat friendly rivalry. She was talking to Uncle Mifune and Shigehide more, and was starting to become the best shot at target practice, with a proficiency in all firearm types.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. After nearly three years and a half of staying in Tetsu no Kuni, Naruto left with Meilan and his sensei GSD to go back to Konoha. When she saw him at the park he usually trained at, Naruto broke the news to her. Her heart broke as she realized that she was in love with the bastard and didn't want him to leave, though said bastard didn't know it. When asked if he would ever come back, he gave her a thumbs up and a sincere smile before saying, "Someday I will; and that's a promise I intend to keep."

Sayaka didn't know what came over her; she didn't understand why it was that it felt so right when she pinned him to the ground and almost started kissing him passionately on the lips until she saw Meilan looking down at them with a 'in your dreams!' expression just made it all the better. After that day, she'd not seen hide nor hair of either Naruto or Meilan; the only proof she had of their temporary residence in Tetsu no Kuni was the photograph she had taken of Naruto and Meilan on either side while she held Gear in her hands with a smile which had been taken almost a month before they left.

Suddenly, the sound of the shoji door opening had broken the lull of the assembly process. "Am I interrupting something?" asked the male voice behind her, "I'm here for your part of the deal—I teach you how to telepathically speak with your 'bots, and I test your new gun designs. My old revolvers are just about ready to go to pieces." The owner of the voice was a young man with messy, dark green hair and eyes, which were partially hidden behind a narrow pair of glasses. He wore the dark uniform of the Saika district's constabulary, though his hands were covered in simple, green line tattoos. He carried a pair of old revolvers in holsters at his hip, though Sayaka knew he had a third gun hidden in his jacket.

"Well quit your bitching asshole, I'm already done!" With that, Sayaka handed him the firearm made of bamboo.

"…Bamboo…?" he asked, a slight twitch in his eyebrow as he took it and stowed it in a pocket, "A gun made of bamboo? This thing won't stand up to a trial, I hope you realize."

"I can't do shit about it Carlos," shot back Sayaka, turning to face the other occupant of the room, "Saika policy clearly states that unless a field test is performed on the bamboo prototype, they won't spend metal and funds manufacturing it. So suck it up, and take that thing for a test drive!"

"Your funeral, Egg-Shell." His transmitter went off and he broke off, immediately pulling it out, "What's going on?"

"Officer Binarius, we have a brawl in the Imperialist Gentleman's Club. We need you there ASAP!"

"Roger that, sir." Carlos then turned to Sayaka. "Well, it looks like this baby is getting her test drive after all. I'll be sure to let you know how it works."

The police officer turned away as Sayaka gave him the finger, only for him to return it without missing a beat as he closed the door.

…

[Naruto and Tenten…]

The two of them had been trudging through the Forest of Death for quite some time now. Naruto was serving as the bloodhound because of his specialization as a sensor-ninja and Tenten keeping an eye on threats such as giant animals and other genin teams. Why he sent out four Bunshin earlier was a bit of a mystery to her. Even stranger to her was that these Bunshin were solid copies. "Are you sure we're going the right direction?" asked Tenten with obvious concern.

"Positive," answered Naruto, gently leading her along by the hand, "I'm following your chakra trail. Hopefully, it won't go cold—and our teams haven't left yet."

"Then what's with the Bunshin you sent out earlier?"

A small 'hmph' of triumph had left Naruto as he continued to lead Tenten along. "I had a theory; if the Kage Bunshins that I create are all solid copies of me, then why can't they use the same jutsu as I can? So, why spend large amounts of chakra to extend the reach and accuracy of my chakra radar, when I could send out multiple Kage Bunshin to scan the area ahead to do the same job?"

"I see!" And she did. It was quite a good idea. In addition, the Kage Bunshin could act as a first response unit, taking care of threats as they took point.

She paused as he gestured at her. "We're getting close," said Naruto, analyzing the information he had just received, "They entered the range of my scans just as my Kage Bunshin passed along their trajectory not too long ago. We'll be on an intercept course with them shortly."

The two of them kept on moving forward. Their teams would be needing their help to get through these exams.

…

[Teams Seven, Nine, Eleven, and Kabuto…]

This whole thing screamed suspicious in at least twelve different languages. Something was not right, and Neji knew it. He just couldn't put his finger on it until he stopped and took stock of the surroundings. "What's the matter Neji?" asked Rock Lee, having awakened moments ago much to the Hyūga Branch Member's relief. His question caused everyone else to pause and look at him.

"It seems we're under a Genjutsu," answered Neji, studying the surroundings.

"No shit," shot back Kurama, still hefting a now-listening Kin "Looks to me like someone is too much of a pussy to fight us up close so, they rely on Genjutsu to win their battles."

…

[Elsewhere…]

"Achoo!"

Asuma looked at Kurenai. "What's wrong?"

"I think somebody just spoke ill of me…" growled the Jonin, clenching her fist angrily.

…

[Back in Training Ground 44…]

"Well how do you know we're in a Genjutsu?" asked Meilan, concerned for what the answer would mean.

Kikyo on the other hand face-palmed. "How could I not have seen it? Look!" she shouted, pointing at a centipede that had been pierced by a kunai. "We've been passing that same centipede nine times now, which means that we've been stuck since the moment that thing died!"

"Good observation!" said a voice that came from the bushes, revealing three genin in dirty yellow jumpsuits and rebreathers. Each jumpsuit had an integrated hitai-ate from Amegakure.

"What do you say boss? Should we kill the men, take the women and steal their scrolls?" asked one of the Amegakure genin.

"Why not? We've got plenty of time, so why not make their deaths slow and painful like we did every other team? But if we're gonna do this, I want to make one thing clear: the red-skinned bitch is mine!"

Kurama's grin turned dangerous. "Oh really? Then why don't you prove you're a superb specimen for me? After all, I'm pretty sure that you can't be any better than the **_man_** I've promised myself to!"

The lead Ame-nin's eyes gleamed darkly at the challenge. "Oh, I'm man enough for you! Allow me to prove it by killing everyone in this field!"

The three Ame genin charged in, causing everyone to wonder if they were crazy. Satsuki cut through one of them with her katana while Tsukiko stabbed the other two with her swords. Certain that their enemies were down for the count, the Uchiha twins pulled their weapons back. However, to their surprise the three merely split at their wounds and became six. One tried to stab Neji, only to have his kunai deflected and then take a Jyūken strike to the head, which created another two. Meilan jumped in as well, blocking attacks from the quickly increasing enemy forces while Kikyo shot many crossbow bolts, but no matter what they tried, they kept multiplying. Even Rock Lee's fists of fury seemed to pass straight through them before making more appear—some from the ground, others from being split apart like slime.

Kurama was the only one who was not participating. She had taken Kin away and was watching with a front-row seat. The look of disgust in Kin's face was clear. "Don't worry," said the red-skinned woman, knowing exactly what her charge was thinking, "They can take care of it. I already know it."

"Well if you know how to get them out of this trap, then why aren't you speeding things up for them?"

She merely grinned deviously. There was a legitimate reason for not participating. "I want to watch them figure it out. I won't get involved unless I know the twins are taking too long to finish this fight. Besides, if I'm right, they're already getting reinforcements."

Kin wanted to ask what the red-skinned Amazon meant. Her unasked question was answered for her, however, as large, crescent-shaped wave of chakra appeared. It soared high with great speed and sliced through a branch, which fell on the army of Ame-nin and dispelled the Genjutsu. "Seems you were all in a spot of trouble," said the voice from the bushes, much like the Ame team, "good thing we got here in time."

The three teams and Kabuto turned their heads to see Tenten and Naruto arriving at the scene. As a lull in the battle was found, Naruto's nose caught a scent combination he never thought he'd smell in the real world. "Kurama? What are you doing here?"

The red-skinned woman's response was a light chuckle with the nasal tone of flirting. "Worry about that later, you have much bigger concerns to deal with now."

Naruto's expression turned slightly serious. "If you're standing by until things get out of hand, then I wouldn't have it any other way. I want to prove to you that I'm man enough for you."

Kurama smiled amusedly. Inwardly however, she thought, _'Silly Kit, you're already at that level. I just want you to get stronger so you can get your wish to have the power to protect those you love.'_

Satsuki, Tsukiko, Kikyo, and Meilan wanted to run up to Naruto, but he stopped them with a raised hand. "Not now, they're still here; I can sense them moving around. They're likely to try and catch us in a genjutsu again and then kill us all when we're tired." The four went on guard at that. There was no way they were going to get caught again. "What's the plan?" asked Kikyo.

Naruto grinned predatorily. "Simple. We just need a distraction."

"And why should we listen to a monster like you?" spat Neji.

"Do you really want to stay here all day?" Tenten shot back, "We need to get to that tower immediately Neji! So shut the hell up and listen to him!"

…

[Team Oboro]

The Amegakure team had been trying to get into a better position for the past few minutes. Once they could get into a better position, they could… "You traitor!" shouted the holier-than-thou Hyūga boy, catching their attention as they watched an exchange between him and the blind swordsman, "You come here claiming you wish to aid us, and you do this?"

"Whatever it takes Neji-teme," said the blond, readying his katana to cut Neji to bits, "You and I both know that these exams are cutthroat. I intend to shrink the competition."

Team Oboro studied the fight before them. so far, the all-girl team was incapacitated, along with the taijutsu specialist of the Hyuga's team and that guy with the glasses. The exchange was between Neji and the blond. "You think you're going get away with this, Naruto?!" asked the girl with buns angrily, "You'll be punished for this!"

As they watched, the three boys suddenly felt something his them in the chest. They all turned and looked down at their chest to see disk-shaped adhesives with blinking red lights. "Enjoying yourselves, boys?" asked the moss-headed girl. She was holding a small, but ominous-looking device with a button on it, which she was in danger of pressing. "Oh dear, falling for the old 'fake fight' trick? For shame, you three. Right, here's how this'll go: I ask you for the scroll, you give it to me. If you don't, then we've got a problem. If we've got a problem, then I press this button and _you've_ got a problem. Got me?

"Oh yeah, and what'll happen if we don't?" asked the Ame team leader defiantly.

The moss-head grinned dangerously. "Do any of you know what you've got stuck on you? It's a little number I mixed up called 'composition four,' a plastic explosive; in short, you've all got bombs stuck to you. Quite powerful I might add."

Outwardly, the team leader of the Ame team showed bravado, but inwardly he was shaken. "You're bluffing! This shit isn't a bomb—just some clay you picked up earlier to make us think it's an explosive, bitch!"

At that, she glanced briefly at the girl in white, who tossed a similar disk to the one that was attached to the team's chest. It stuck to the trunk of a tree, and then she pulled out another small device with a button. When she pressed it, the Ame team watched in horror as the flashing of the red light increased in frequency, before a loud whine sounded off and the disk exploded, utterly destroying the upper half of the tree. "That was one pack," said the moss-headed girl, "But the ones attached to the three you are linked together; meaning that if I press one button, you're all dead. Give me that scroll, and I'll see to it that you have enough time to get the explosives off you."

The genin of Team Oboro stared at the moss-head with fear in their eyes. The standoff continued silently as they trembled in fear for a moment. "Don't do it Oboro," warned one of the Ame genin, "They'll just kill us all after we give them the scroll!"

"I'll kill you if you don't," Kikyo corrected in a sing-song voice, "But if you give us the scroll, I'll give you boys some time to get out of those clothes and get out of here. Meilan here will collect the scroll if you're ready."

"And nothing funny," added Meilan, "Kikyo has the remote, but don't think for a second that I won't kick your asses and then search your pathetic bodies down to the barest minimum of clothes afterwards. In fact, compared to my boyfriend over there, I'm pretty sure you're all limp and useless between the legs anyway!"

Kikyo shot Meilan a brief look of surprise before turning her attention back to Oboro and his team. The question on her mind in that moment was obvious. "Don't be surprised. Naruto-kun and I bathe together due to his blindness, so I pretty much have an exclusive pass to be with him in the tub."

The expressions on the faces of Oboro's team ranged from slight outrage at Meilan's earlier accusation of inadequacy to outright envy that the blind kid actually had a girl like this with him in the bath. Oh the injustice of it all! They would've fought back were it not for the fact that Kikyo held the remote in one hand, and a crossbow in the other. "So, what's it going to be?" she asked, challenging them all.

Oboro reached into his back pocket and pulled out a scroll with the kanji for 'Heaven' on it. With a slight nod, Meilan walked carefully towards him, grabbed it and walked back to Kikyo. "Now, here's how this is going to go down," the green-haired girl said, keeping her crossbow trained on Oboro's head. At the same time, the blind genin walked out from the bushes. "Meilan and I are going to go back to our team with your scroll while our friend here keeps an ear on you. If you try to pursue us, if you try to take off the explosive before all of us leave, then the pieces will be so small that your only purpose from that point on will be as fertilizer for all the trees in the forest. Am I understood?"

The Ame genin simply glared at her. With that, the two girls left the blind genin to keep watch, so to speak…

…

[Teams Seven, Eleven, and Nine…]

"Did you get it?" asked Naruto, dispelling the Kage Bunshin disguised as Meilan and Kikyo. As he did so, everyone who was pretending to be knocked out got up and looked at them. Kurama, on the other hand, merely hefted Kin over her shoulder and walked closer to the group as they all gathered together.

"Worked like a charm," answered Kikyo, "They won't be following us. And if we're lucky, they won't infect the world with their pathetic skills as shinobi."

"You sound so sure of yourself," shot back Meilan, as she handed the Heaven scroll to Satsuki, "You're not seriously considering pressing that button, are you?"

Kikyo put on a look of feigned hurt, while her hand still thumbed the trigger on the detonator. "Of course not; I hate to waste good explosive materials as much as the next girl on a simple ruse, I had to make them believe me somehow. Although, given the humiliation they caused me, I'm tempted to do so."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Tenten, quickly breaking up the fight between Kikyo and Meilan before it started.

"There's nothing else to do," answered Kabuto, "We just head for the tower. There's no need to kill them."

Kurama simply glanced at Kabuto with another suspicious glint in her eyes.

"He's right, killing them is a waste of time," Neji cut in, "But we're going to have to split up. We are still technically enemies in this exam."

"Well why don't we stick together?" asked Kurama, though her distaste for the Hyūga brat was clear in her voice, "If we do that, then we're more likely to waste less time getting to the tower than if we got there individually."

"I agree with the Red Queen," added Tsukiko, "If we all do this as a large group, we're less likely to run into teams that would otherwise take the opportunity to try and slow us down."

"Fine!" spat Neji, "Have it your way, but this changes nothing!"

After that little argument, everyone took off; it would be best to move while they still had the numbers advantage. With a shrug, Kikyo threw the detonator away without pressing the trigger as she followed the others in their sprint to the tower…

[With Team Oboro]

"Man, this sucks!" snarled Kagari. The Ame Genin had divested themselves of their clothing, somehow believing the girl would indeed blow them up if given reason. After all, it's what _they_ would do.

"Any idea where we're gonna get more clothes?" asked the third teammate, poking at the clay gloomily, "We look ridiculous without anything but our masks and underwear."

Meanwhile, Oboro seethed in indignation. "If it's the last thing I do..." he growled, "I'll get those two bitches back, somehow. And by the time I'm done, they'll _like_ it! Huh?" His tirade was cut short as he saw something small fly out of the trees. It was the detonator to the C4 packs. "Ha! Haha! I knew she didn't have the balls to blow us up!" he sneered triumphantly.

"Well, she's a girl, so of course she doesn't have any..." Ame-nin no. 3's voice trailed off as Kagari glared at him. "...Right. Sorry."

"Freakin' smartass."

Grinning smugly under their re-breathers, Team Oboro put their jumpsuits back on, ignoring the now-useless (to them) clumps of clay still stuck to their chest. A sudden chattering made them freeze, before turning slowly. A small monkey had climbed down from a nearby tree and picked up the detonator, scratching its head as it examined the curious device. It put its thumb on the button.

"No-!" cried Oboro in horror.

*BOOM!*

All three exploded, blood and bits of corpse showering the clearing as the monkey hightailed it out of there.

One of Naruto's Kage Bunshin, which had hidden in the trees after the group left, tilted its head and heard the sound of droplets and...other things hit the ground. "Well, would you look at that," he muttered, "It's raining Ame-nin." Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

…

[Elsewhere in Konoha…]

GSD stood on the rooftops of Konoha overlooking Training Ground 44. He'd heard that roar hours ago, and it pained him that what he had predicted had come to pass. Why did things never seem to go as planned? And now Orochimaru had awakened the Curse of Kazan, with the possibility of a return to its previous state as an infectious disease! "You seem in bad spirits," said a voice behind him, venom lacing its tone, "I take it your threat to Orochimaru didn't work?"

"Has Orochimaru always been this horrible at listening to his elders?"

"No, he only listens when he thinks it could gain him something in the future," answered the voice of Jiraiya, "But all that aside, what are you going to do about Naruto?"

"What is there to do?" asked GSD, "I cannot be involved any further than I already have. As much as I wish to protect Naruto, I cannot—he will encounter the prophecy soon enough, and nothing I do will prepare him for it. Kurama will train him well enough, but ultimately, it is up to Naruto to fulfill it."

"And what prophecy is that?" shot back the Gama Sennin.

"It was a prophecy I'd found in my travels once. About a Sage born of the Curse of Kazan. A Sage who gains the power to become the mightiest warrior the world had ever seen, ending the demon Kazan and the reign of terror caused by his blood curse once and for all. It is also said that the after the battle with the demon, the Sage of Kazan will have the power to decide the fate of the world—for the power of Kazan will be in his hands."

"It sounds a little too familiar to me," Jiraiya murmured darkly, "Either way it seems we have intersecting goals. The only question I have now is, what do we do at the moment?"

"As I've said, there's nothing I can do for now," answered GSD with a sigh of hopelessness, "All I can do at the moment is listen and hope for the best. Though to be honest, I still have a grudge with Orochimaru-"

Jiraiya grunted, "Who doesn't?"

The corner of the old man's mouth twitched. "...Which I plan to settle in the foreseeable future—perhaps I should warn him one last time to not follow through with what he intends to do…or maybe make my threat more believable so that at the very least he learns to respect his elders. You, on the other hand have your own part to play in your prophecy don't you?"

With a grim chuckle, the white-haired man stood back up. "What else is there for me to do?"

"You could properly do your job as a spy master instead of spying on women in bathhouses." Unfortunately, GSD's words fell on deaf ears as Jiraiya had already left. The elder man let out a sad chuckle. "Then again, I suppose I was like you at that age once...when was that again?" GSD had been around for a while.

…

[Training Ground 44 Central Tower, almost half an hour later…]

Teams Seven, Eleven, and Nine had arrived at the tower with Kabuto running to meet his team. After entering the building, the three groups saw a sign that read 'When heaven is plentiful, seek Earth. When Earth is in abundance, seek Heaven.' "What do we do now?" asked Sakura, looking to her mistresses in curiosity.

"I guess we have to open our scrolls," answered Tsukiko, unsure of her answer.

"It's a long-shot," Satsuki continued, "But I suppose it's worth a try."

"You girls sure about this?" asked Naruto to Meilan and Kikyo. The two of them nodded before confirming it to Naruto. "We're ready."

That said, all three teams had laid their scrolls on the floor before untying the strings holding the rolls shut. With one quick motion, all six scrolls were unfurled and smoke had filled the entire room. "Well it seems we have some more winners here!"exclaimed a very familiar voice from the smoke, "And just in time by the looks of it."

"Is that you Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Naruto! I see you've gotten stronger."

"But...I don't get it, what is the meaning of that sign, and what was the purpose of not opening the scrolls?" asked Sakura, genuinely confused.

Iruka was not bothered in the slightest, and was about to explain when a voice spoke up. "When you are plentiful in strength of the mind, of Heaven, then seek to strengthen your body," said Uchiha Mikoto, "But if you are full of Earth, your body is powerful, then you should seek to improve your mind."

"In answer to your second question, Haruno-san," added the voice of Maito Gai, "It deals with your ability to handle a mission involving confidential intelligence. Many times, missions are on a need-to-know basis, and oftentimes clients might need a shinobi that can keep it that way. Now if you'll follow us, we'll take you to the arena." With a nod of acquiescence, the other teams started to follow. However, Mikoto let out a 'psst' to the twins with a dire look in her face. As they walked over to her, she held out a briefcase. "It is important that I give you these," she said quietly, handing it to Tsukiko, "And if I were you, I would put them on right now."

Tsukiko thumbed the locks on the briefcase, and opened it for both her and Satsuki to see. "They will limit your power," added Mikoto, looking at her daughters (one of whom was disguised as a boy) with a hopeless expression, "But they will allow you to fight indefinitely, so long as you don't ingest any blood. After this however, I would recommend that you speak to Naruto about training…it is likely that he understands more about the Curse of Kazan than I do."

"Mom, why are we infected with the Curse?" asked Satsuki, as she snapped the shackles over her infected wrist and bicep. Though she tried to keep her voice level, Mikoto could hear a note of despair.

"There's no time now," interrupted Tsukiko, comforting her older sister in disguise, "We have to finish off these Exams." Once she was assured that Satsuki was all right, she faced her mother with concern in her eyes. "We'll talk with you later about this."

As she watched her daughters walk away, Mikoto let out tears of sadness and sympathy for her daughters. "...I'll tell you everything I know," she murmured.

…

[Chūnin Exam Stadium]

Sakura found her mistresses running up to meet her at the ground level of the indoor arena. She noted that the both of them each had a set of shackles like the one worn on Naruto-baka's arms. At this point, she knew that nothing she said would make any difference…they needed some time to think.

"Welcome all Genin to the Chūnin Exam Preliminaries," said the proctor with a hoarse voice, coughing violently into his hand, "My name is Gekkō Hayate, and I'm your proctor for this part of the exams. *cough* Now, before we get to the matches, the Hokage would like to have a word with you all."

"Greetings, potential Chūnin," said the Hokage as he smoked his pipe, "As I'm sure you are all aware, there is more at stake in the Chūnin Exams than simply your standing as a ninja. The truth of the matter is that these exams are being held as a means of averting an all-out war; rather, they are being held in place of a real one. Now as a reminder, while I frown upon deaths in this stage of the exam, it is in fact allowable if you killed your opponent. That being said, once the Proctor says the match is over, it's _over_. Do not hold back, and you shall all do well in these exams. That is all."

With that said, Sarutobi turned and left the arena. Hayate turned to the crowd of genin before him, ready to say his own piece. "Now, one more thing before we begin: is there anyone who feels that they do not wish to participate?"

Almost immediately, Kabuto raised his hand. "I feel I used too much chakra in the previous Exam, and would like to drop out."

Hayate looked at Kabuto, apparently unsurprised. "Very well then, you may leave."

As Kabuto bowed respectfully to the Tokubetsu Jōnin, Kurama silently looked at him with even more suspicion. Yes, something was most definitely off about him. She could feel that he had plenty of chakra, more than enough to continue these exams—why he would lie about this? She had her suspicions, but there was nothing she could do about it at the moment except to glare daggers at him before moving closer to Naruto's ear. "Be wary of that Kabuto, Kit. I have a feeling he's up to no good."

"I hear you," he whispered back, "I know he has more chakra than a standard genin, so something definitely doesn't add up."

"Anyone else want to drop out?" asked Hayate, scanning the crowd, "Okay then, here's how this works: your names will all appear on the screen. Only the people who are called up for their matches may stay here; the rest of you will wait up in the balcony. Am I clear?"

There was a general agreement. The rules were clear-cut and understandable, to them. Hayate let out another ragged cough and turned to face the screen. "Alright then, the first match will be…"

…

**_A/N: If I had to have someone do Gear's voice in English, I'd have the voice-over for the Hyperion Cl4P-TP Robot from "Borderlands" to do it._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Class Introduction:_**

**_Berserker—this is a subclass of the Slayer that specializes in single-target DPS. Berserkers do best with either a katana for great speed or a zanbatō for massive damage, and specialize in Heavy Armor. Berserker attacks tend to cause bleeding or at the very least do more damage when the target is bleeding, and sometimes requires health instead of mana to use for their attacks, this is most notable in their Frenzy skill as they always have a chance to cause bleeding and heals the user when the target dies bleeding. This is also the only Slayer class with any skill directly related to healing, as Diehard allows the Berserkers to heal themselves when low on health, giving the class the nickname "Cockroach" among the Korean players._**

**_Mechanic—a Gunner subclass; this class specializes in summoning robots to support the gunner that summoned them from exploding windup toys to a flying robot that guns down enemies with bullets and missiles. Male Mechanics get a slightly different set of moves from females, but both are best played with an Auto Gun and Cloth Armor. Saika Sayaka is mainly a Mechanic._**

…

**_Character classes:_**

**_Len Ferro: Avenger/Necromancer hybrid. Skills are different due to 'praying' to different gods._**

**_Carlos Binarius: All Gunner. Primary-Ranger, Secondary-Launcher, Tertiary-Spitfire,Quaternary-Mechanic. Skills work slightly differently from a normal Gunner._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Spirit Crescent_**

**_Flying C-4: The Spitfire throws disks of C-4 that detonate with the press of a button._**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

**_"Mononoke Hime (Instrumental)" by Joe Hisaishi from "Mononoke Hime"—Tenten and Naruto_**

**_"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Kurama's suspicion_**

**_"Someone Else's Song" by Wilco—Team Ten's meal_**

**_"Victory Fanfare" by Uematsu Nobuo from "Final Fantasy"-Reunion_**

**_"Soldier Vs. Ghost" by Konami JPN from "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes"—Team Seven and Eleven vs. Team Oboro_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Bokken—this literally means 'wooden sword' in Japanese. These weapons are used for training, and are meant to be an approximate equivalent to the weight of a real katana; they are still deadly however, as despite being blunt they can be used as a bludgeoning weapon (to which the late Sasaki Kojiro can attest to)._**

**_Saika Clan—this clan is based on the infamous Saika Mercenary group, an army famous in Japan's Sengoku Basara era for being the first all-rifleman army of the time. Their numbers were made up of many matchlock specialists, gunsmiths, and foundries. Their leader was Saika Magoichi; a name that was given to the head of the clan, and bestowed upon only three men, Saika Shigehide being the last one to hold the title._**

**_Nee-chan: this is the Japanese word for 'older sister' used between family members._**


	26. Preliminaries

**_A/N: I've just gotten an anonymous review on several of my other stories pretty much trolling them for being cliché and unoriginal. Well I have this to say to you: say bye-bye to your review! This goes for all of you who think you can get away with trolling me anonymously—your reviews will be ignored and deleted before I hunt you down and re-enact the "Pulp Fiction" Ezekiel 25:17 scene on your ass! Other than that, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Akado Yoroi vs. Len Ferro]

Hayate quirked an eyebrow at the second name. Normally the names would be displayed the traditional way, but for some reason Len's name came out with his given name first. Then he shrugged; it didn't really make any difference what order the guy's name was in.

"Alright, everyone," he said loudly, before coughing, "Everyone who is- *cough* -_isn't_ Len Ferro or Akado Yoroi, clear the battle- *hack* -battleground!"

Len cracked his neck with a grunt as everyone else walked away up the nearest stairs. _Dunno how I should feel about this...upside, I fight first, get this out of the way. Downside?_ He grimaced at his opponent, a rather generic-looking young man with a mask over his face. _I'm fighting cannon fodder. Whoop de fucking doo._

"Got somethin' to say, beanstalk?" sneered Yoroi.

Len's eyebrow twitched. "Beanstalk? Are all the other tall jokes are too good for you or something? I guess your material is about as original as your appearance."

There were quite a few snickers from the stands, but the Elf just rolled his eyes. _Oh come on, it's not _that_ funny,_ he thought, _but now to kick into high gear_.

"Let's get this show on the road," sighed Hayate. He raised his hand and chopped downward, "Akado Yoroi and Len Ferro: Hajime!"

Immediately Yoroi darted forward, extending a glowing hand. _Alright, some kind of contact ability,_ thought Len, hopping back quickly and repeatedly out of range, _either for inflicting pain, or some other unpleasant effect. Bluh, thinking's annoying..._ Yoroi suddenly surged forward again and Len turned to the side to avoid the attack. "Hey man, look, I know I'm hot and all, but I'm really not okay with just being groped in front of everyone." This drew another laugh from the balcony.

"Screw you!" yelled the masked Genin, taking a few more swipes at the large elf, "And hold still, will you? Or how about you just kick your own ass and save me the trouble?"

Len seemed to consider it. "Nah. This is boring and all, but I ain't _that_ desperate."

Suddenly, Yoroi's hand closed around his wrist. "You'll be desperate now! I'll be taking that chakra of yours..." He trailed off, suddenly confused. "Hang on...what the shit? Your mental and physical energies are all screw-"

*BAM!*

The Genin was sent flying by a punch to the jaw from Len's free hand. He flew back a few feet and hit the ground hard. "Hand-holdin's not till the second date, moron," Len drawled, flexing his wrist, "Jeez, if you keep ignorin' the rules like that, I'm afraid I won't be willing to go another round wit' ya." He grimaced and put a hand to his stomach. "...Don't think I could even if I wanted."

"Looks like he still hasn't healed entirely from his encounter with the Berserker," Ayakasia murmured to Françoise.

Yoroi scrambled to his feet, his jaw aching fiercely. "W-what are you?" he stammered.

"Here's a hint!" said Len, smirking. He mocking put his hands to his ears, deliberately tracing their elongated shape.

"Take me seriously, damn it!" roared Yoroi.

Len rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Fine, you big baby. I'll meet you half-way, alright?" Ignoring the way his opponent was now positively steaming, Len reached into his left coat pocket and pulled out a tiny black cube, which he tossed in the air. There was a high-pitched, very annoying buzzing sound, which dropped alarmingly in pitch (Naruto winced in pain) as the cube suddenly grew larger, landing back in Len's hand with a smack. The cube was now a smooth, rectangular block of iron, and would have gone up to Len's knee, had he placed it on the ground.

All Yoroi could do was stare at it. "What is that?" he asked.

"I call it Pandora," the elf said proudly, as if that explained everything. However, in a world where no one knew Greek myths, the name had no significance whatsoever, and so failed to provoke a reaction from the audience. Len beamed for a moment, then scowled when no one applauded and said, "You all suck."

"...What's it do?" Yoroi found himself asking. There wasn't any harm in asking, right? It was just a big chunk of-

"Catch!"

What?

*WHAM!*

His eyes bulged behind his sunglasses as a _very heavy_ block of metal flew into his chest. Len had tossed it in a casual underhand, but Yoroi was knocked clean off his feet, cracking a couple of ribs. He hit the ground with a thud, 'Pandora' sitting on his torso. If one looked at it right, it almost seemed to have an air about it; like a faithful dog that was sitting on a recent kill. Obviously, the only one who 'saw' this was Len, who snorted in amusement.

He walked over to his downed opponent and reached down to pick up the block. However, Yoroi's hands suddenly sprang up and seized his wrist again. "This again?" asked Len, unconcerned, "That won't work, you know-"

"Ynmi giqvmq."

Len froze for an instant, then leaped back, taking the block with him. "No..." he said flatly, "No, no, no..."

Slowly, Yoroi sat up; the little of his face that could be seen was twisted in a disturbing grin. "Vmwuiron, cqung iqwef nvj fmgao!" he sneered, "Grnso gbioa!"

The elf scowled. "You don't want to do that," he said lowly, "The Horrorterrors aren't known for helping with anything but their own disputes."

"Vnnnda oi!" scoffed the young man, "Bbaihg rriannk, fvime."

Up in the stands, Yoroi's teammate Misumi glared at the elves. "What the fuck's going on?" he growled.

Ayakasia shrugged. "Who knows?" she asked rhetorically.

"Your teammate seems to have been infected by Len's weird religion," said François, shivering slightly, "Jeez, and I thought one 'Grimdark' was bad enough. Don't bother asking what he's saying though—even I can't understand him."

Len passed a hand over one of Pandora's sides, the surface shimmering and rippling. "You know, I was going to let you live and all," he growled, "But you've pretty much just screwed yourself over."

"Rfesa nvcy miem? Ha! Tghawmen famia jiogbnm gbok!" Yoroi laughed, a gray pallor stealing over his skin. He threw back his and yelled, "Fluthlu fhta-"

Len's eyes flashed and his hand flickered. A silvery-gray knife flew across the room and nailed Yoroi in the throat. The young man choked, apparently surprised as blood poured from his neck. For a moment he scrabbled with his hands, but they were already too weak to pull it out. Then, with one last gurgle, he pitched forward and collapsed, blood pooling on the floor.

With a gesture, the knife tugged itself out of his throat and went spinning back to Len's hand, shedding blood as it went. With a final flick, Len slid the knife back into Pandora, the weapon dissolving to fill the hole that had been made in the block. "Fucking idiot," he sighed, shaking his head. He glanced at Hayate, "Call it, Proc!"

Hayate walked over and knelt by Yoroi. It was just a formality; he could tell the man was already dead. "Winner by Fatality: Len Ferro!"

Len nodded, shrinking Pandora back down to a small cube, which he pocketed. There was a long silence as he walked back up to the stands, the sound of his geta seemingly thunderous. As he reached the top of the stairs, he hissed with pain and pressed his hand to his stomach again, but shrugged it off and joined his teammates.

François asked, "You alright?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "Not my fault he got greedy."

…

"Okay, that was pretty weird," said Hayate, watching as the medics carried the body away, "But all that aside, let's see who's the next match…" The pictures on the screen started flying through the names of the shinobi present at the arena. The tensions were high in the stands as people awaited their turn—the names were rolling through the screen at a high speed and showed no signs of slowing down. The tension was so thick that even the blind Naruto started thumbing the tsuba of Mizu-hime.

Finally, the board landed on two names, and Hayate called, "Would Ayakasia and Uchiha Tsukiko please come on down to the arena?"

…

[Ayakasia vs. Uchiha Tsukiko]

"Are you ready for this Tsukiko?" asked Mikoto as she looked at her youngest daughter concernedly.

"No worries mom," answered the younger Uchiha twin, momentarily forgetting about her depression, "I've got this match in the bag."

"All the same, be careful. I may not be too well-versed in elf anatomy, but even I can see that while they may seem dainty, they pack a wallop in terms of speed and grace. Do not underestimate them, and most certainly do not underestimate your opponent."

With a nod of confirmation, Tsukiko went down the stairs to meet her opponent face-to-face. Her mother was right…while her Sharingan was active, the male elf was actually rather fast (but seemed unwilling to move), and used what appeared to be a kind of energy similar to chakra in his attacks. It was as though he drew this energy from his environment, sort of like Naruto did when he performed his jutsu. What was it that he did anyway? Perhaps she'll ask him about it after her mom explains to them why they are infected with Naruto-kun's condition.

On the other side of the stands, Ayakasia walked down the steps of the stands as she analyzed her opponent. Truth be told, she was not kidding about what she told that Iwa kunoichi from the Forest: their spy network was on par, if not better than the Gama Sennin Jiraiya's. Such was the skill of their spies that even when New Lorien was being founded, the NLIA was still spying on the Elemental Nations, to the point that they even know the so-called 'secret' of the Uchiha twins. Not that there was much point in exploiting this secret at the moment.

Even as the two Kunoichi stopped on either side of him, Hayate could feel the tension building up. He watched as the two kunoichi stood at the ready, resting their hands on their blades. Tsukiko had her Sharingan activated while the purple-skinned elf's blue eyes took on a silvery glow. He could practically feel the tension increase with every second.

With a snap, his hand dropped to the ground in a blur. "Hajime!" With barely a millisecond's pause, it began. The two fighters began the fight with a quick-draw attack using their respective short blades. The clash of blade meeting blade rang through the air before their attacks started to move at speeds that blurred their arms—this surprised Tsukiko a great deal, as she knew how fast she really was. She knew that while she was pretty fast, she was nowhere near as fast as a Hyūga warrior, and yet here she was, matching a dark elf blow for blow in what could only be described as a high-speed knife fight. Such was the speed and aggression of the attacks that every parried thrust and countered slash sounded like shattered glass hitting the floor.

The attacks were too fast for the untrained eye to see, but Satsuki and Mikoto both had their Sharingan active, and were watching carefully how the battle progressed. They were not the only ones who were able to tell what was happening, as Meilan had been trained to see things at high speed and Naruto simply listened to all the subtle cues. The standoff was broken when the two fighters jumped back only to strike at each other again at ultra-high speeds before Tsukiko broke the monotony by spinning around for a kick. Ayakasia jumped over it, however, landing a good distance away from her opponent before rushing in to stab her in the back. Tsukiko countered by ducking, and using the momentum of her turn to perform a sweep kick to trip the dark elf princess. Then she performed an underhanded slash on the now-airborne Ayakasia, only for her to burst into a puff of smoke and reappear a good distance away from her opponent.

This was the opportunity to press the attack! Tsukiko charged in to pin down her opponent and tire her out. After all, in a battle between speed-type fighters, the winner was the one who lasted the longest. Ayakasia moved quickly with her dual kukri held up. She caught the blade which would have otherwise cut into her head just in time to push it back and roll away from the second sword stabbing at her. She retaliated with a kick to her opponent's face, only to see Tsukiko dodging with a simple movement of her head, before countering with a single swing of her own blade. The battle soon became a dance of slashes directed at cutting the enemy's vitals…or at least to score more cuts than the opponent as quickly as possible. An underhanded slash aimed at slitting the opponent's throat by one side by Tsukiko, a heavy swing from Ayakasia intended to dismember her opponent; so many attacks at high speed before the two of them broke off.

"You're pretty good," said Ayakasia, panting as she stared down her opponent, feeling dozens of cuts all over her body. To her satisfaction, however, her opponent had almost as many cuts on her body. "It looks like I've got to take this up a notch! You should feel honored, Uchiha, not many people get to fight a Silver Moon that decides to get serious—and almost none survive to tell about it!"

Ayakasia's already glowing blue eyes increased in intensity to the point that they became a silvery white. Without another word, the elven princess suddenly vanished, moving so quickly that she could not be seen. Almost immediately she reappeared in front of Tsukiko in the middle of a horizontal cut, only to be countered by a stab. Ayakasia dodged to the left, this time going in with a downward slash, aiming to sever her opponent's arm at the elbow. Almost sensing what would happen, Tsukiko pulled back, the kukri blade passing by the tip of her sword, and then leaped forward with a countering knee to the stomach. But even as the joint impacted her, however, Ayakasia vanished. Instantly the ebon-haired girl rolled to the side to avoid a downward slash from behind. With a flick, the dark elf princess sent one kukri spinning towards her opponent, only for it to be deflected up into the air. Tsukiko only had time to see Ayakasia grin, before she vanished and reappeared above her, catching her blade and pivoting in the air for an extremely heavy downward slash from behind, towards the shoulders.

Unbeknownst to the elven princess, Tsukiko grinned deviously for a minute. _Perfect!_ The young Uchiha simply stood there looking over her shoulder at her opponent…she needed to time this right or else she'd be rendered armless. As she stood there practically looking her death in the face, she remembered exactly what her goals in life were: to avenge the Uchiha with Itachi's death, to learn of her family's connection with the Curse of Kazan, to become chūnin with her elder sister, and ultimately, to help her elder sister revive the Uchiha clan with the boy they loved, while dominating all other girls who loved him as much as they did! She had too many things she wanted to do and had come too far to die at the hands of some smoking hot, purple-skinned foreigner. With her opponent in mid-swing to dismember her, and close enough to enact her plan, her moment of truth arrived!

Tsukiko dug her short swords into the ground and bent forward, curling her body into a ball. Using all the strength she could muster, she performed a handstand using her swords and drove both of her feet solidly into Ayakasia's solar plexus, driving the air out of the elven princess' lungs and sending her soaring back into the air. Landing, Tsukiko pulled her swords out and leaped into the air in pursuit. With a heavy underhanded slash, the younger Uchiha's first attack was blocked. "You're kidding me!" said Ayakasia, before her momentary cockiness was replaced with fear the second she saw Tsukiko using the momentum of her swing as a pivot to swing around behind her opponent and land a heavy kick to her back, sending her crashing into the ground.

Landing on the ground herself, Tsukiko used what little chakra she had left to walk slowly towards her opponent. Before Ayakasia could pick up her weapons, Tsukiko interfered, kicking the twin kukri away from their owner. The princess could only feel confusion as her opponent leaned over her and placed a blade to her throat, grinning victoriously. "Do you surrender, princess?"

What Tsukiko didn't expect from her opponent was the grin of excitement. Her answer was joyous laughter. "...Seems you Uchiha really _are_ all that. I yield, but only because I want to fight you again!" With the assurance that she had won, Tsukiko stepped away from Ayakasia, who stood up and sheathed her blades before extending her hand to shake. "Next time we fight, I won't be pulling my punches!"

The younger Uchiha twin took the hand graciously, and simply grinned. "Same here, I'll make sure to bring every dirty trick in my book!"

The challenge was issued. They would meet again one day, and their true skills would be put to the test. But for now, the two of them turned and jumped back to their respective stands, awaiting the next match.

…

The stadium once again cleared as Hayate returned to ground level. With another fit of coughs, he glanced up at the crowds. "Without further ado, le- *cough* -let's move on to the next names on the list." More names began to scroll across the screen. Tensions rose as the names slowed down. Meilan was flexing her fists in anticipation for her own match. Kikyo thumbed the safety pin to one of her grenades. The two of them started in surprise as they felt fingers snaking through their free hands, and found Naruto silently reassuring them.

"The next match will be Baihe Meilan and Nara Shikamaru!"

…

[Meilan vs. Shikamaru]

There was no way around it. Meilan gently released her hold on Naruto's hand and started walking. "Be careful down there Meilan," he said seriously as she passed by, "I don't know if even I can outmuscle Shikamaru. I've got a feeling that he's been holding back; mainly from laziness, but I can tell he's more powerful than he lets on, so you watch yourself."

Smiling, Meilan turned to her lover fully and hugged him lovingly, in front of a jealous Kikyo. "I can take care of myself. Just listen in as I beat him down." She leaped from the stands and landed on the ground lightly, before walking towards her opponent. The apathetic look on his face clearly stated that Shikamaru wanted to be anywhere but here. If what she'd seen of him in the past was true, then he'd much rather be lying on the grass and either sleeping or watching the clouds. As she approached, she kept her tonfa holstered and instead pulled her gloves to snugly fit over her hands, flexing her fists with loud and satisfying cracks and creaks.

Hayate looked between the two and slowly raised his hand "Baihe Meilan and Nara Shikamaru! Hajime!"

He did not even have time to back away before Meilan crossed the distance between herself and her opponent and decked Shikamaru with a devastatingly powerful right hook. Quite a few people in the crowd got bug-eyed as they witnessed the sheer speed and power behind the blow. Unfortunately, her punch passed straight through the face of the bunshin in Shikamaru's place, which wavered and dispelled in the rush of air accompanying her attack. "So troublesome," sighed Shikamaru, who was in fact a foot or so behind where his clone had been, "If I hadn't Kawarimi'd with that clone in time, what would've happened?"

"And what are you going to do about it if I don't tell you?" asked Meilan, looking at her opponent with a bit of scorn.

"It's already been done."

Meilan suddenly found her body unable to move as she wanted. With a great effort, she cast her eyes downward and saw a black trail linking herself and Shikamaru. Nonchalantly, the Nara boy picked at his ear, and to her embarrassment she copied him. "You're already trapped in my clan's specialty: the Kagemane no Jutsu," he said calmly, "As long as your shadow meets mine, I control all your movements. Whatever I do, you'll do. For example…" He slapped himself in the face, forcing Meilan to slap herself as well. "...Anyway, I just want to get this over with so that I can go back to sleep, so I'll finish this quickly."

Shikamaru reached into his back pouch and rummaged through it before finding a kunai. With a quick throw aiming for a headshot, he would assured that victory would be his... his strategizing was interrupted as a sudden headache seared his mind. Wincing, he looked up, and his eyes bulged almost comically at what he saw. In direct defiance of his jutsu, Meilan had caught the kunai by the handle! "Naruto-kun said that I should worry about you," she admitted, twirling the kunai by the ring on the end, "And he was right. Your jutsu did work on me for a time. But I don't think you took into consideration how strong I actually am. If you think that jutsu is going to stop me entirely, you've another thing coming! Now, to pay you back for making me slap myself…"

Shikamaru ran through the hand seals, watching apprehensively as Meilan ran towards him. By the time he finished his jutsu, she was already an inch away from smashing her fist into his face. Quickly back-flipping, Shikamaru put distance between him and the last Baihe. As he landed, his jutsu took effect again, causing her to struggle against the power behind it. Shikamaru immediately tried putting more chakra into it, but it was no use, as Meilan tore her foot free and took a heavy step forward. Shikamaru strained, his headache worsening as she slowly crept closer, her feet bound by his increasingly ineffective jutsu.

By the time she reached a foot away from Shikamaru, the Nara heir had collapsed from both his headache and from chakra exhaustion. As he hit the ground, Meilan felt the weight on her arms and legs vanish. Slowly, she walked over to his downed body, and smirked as she saw that his eye was still open, meaning he was conscious. She drew back her foot and kicked viciously at him, making him tense up, only to stop and lightly tap him with her foot. He went limp as he fainted from fear. Satisfied with her victory, Meilan walked back up the stairs to her lover, practically shaking her ass in such a manner that nearly all the foreign shinobi had dirty thoughts about it.

…

The medics came and removed Shikamaru with a stretcher while Hayate watched, not really paying attention. To think that a Baihe member would have enough brute strength to break out of the Kagemane no Jutsu! It was simply mind-blowing. And the way she swayed her hips really made him wish (on a really deep and locked-up level) that he was much younger so that he could at least try to make a move. "Okay then, *cough* now that that's squared away, let's get to the next match!"

Once more the LED screen scrolled through the names. As the names started slowing to a crawl, tensions built up again. "Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba, please come on down to the arena."

Kiba's features brightened. This was his chance! He would do this or die trying! If he could prove that the dobe was not worthy of Hinata-chan's attention, then he would be one step closer to making up it to her for what he did almost a year prior. That was assuming he could beat that blind freak first…which he was sure to do!

…

[Naruto vs. Kiba]

"I'd surrender if I were you Kiba," warned Naruto, his left hand hovering near the tetsubo slung over his shoulder. His other hand neared the short sword at his lower back, "I'm afraid that if I don't hold back, I might kill you. Which is more than you deserve for what you almost did—if it were up to me, I'd castrate you here and now so that your rapist genes don't pass on down to your kids."

"Make no mistake dobe, I've done wrong by Hinata-chan," said Kiba, gnashing his teeth in anger, "But after I kick your ass, I'm going to do everything I can to make up for what I did. And I'll start by saving her from a pimp and player like you!"

Hayate glanced at the two shinobi with a cautious look in his eyes and a hand in the air—with a quick chop and a shout of "Hajime!" The match began.

Kiba and Akamaru began the fight by charging in for the kill right off the bat, only for Naruto to quickly grab hold of the handle of his tetsubo. The duo were forced to scatter in order to avoid the iron club, which smashed down with a thunderous crash. The ground cratered and fragmented from the force of the blow, making Kiba and his companion gulp. They had just been that close to being turned into pancakes.

Naruto heard them and grinned. "This is how much power I already have with one hand," he taunted, "What makes you think you're ready to take me on with both?"

"Shut up you blind freak! Who do you think you are, some kind of oni?" shouted Kiba, shaking off his fear, "You think pissing me off is going to win you this battle? Tough luck! I've already learned my lesson from the academy, and there's no way your senses are better than an Inuzuka's! Besides, you haven't even fought me at my best!" Kiba pulled a small blackish ball out of his jacket pocket and threw it at Akamaru, who immediately ate it, causing the puppy's whitish fur to turn a blood red. "Akamaru's name means 'Red' dobe," he continued, before charging chakra into his body and getting down on all fours, "And when my friend eats a Soldier Pill, things get more interesting!"

"You realize that you're explaining all this to a guy who can't see colors and crap like that, right?" Naruto deadpanned.

In response, Akamaru pounced at Naruto, intent on pinning the Alpha's leg so Kiba could finish the match. However, Naruto merely shifted his leg and brought the tetsubo down once more. It was too late for the puppy to dodge entirely; he could only shut his mouth and move to the left as much as he could. Fortunately for him, the metal club only grazed him lightly as it struck the floor, stunning him. Almost as soon as it hit the ground, Naruto swung it up, over and around his head and punching Kiba, who had been sneaking up from the other side, in the nose. He crouched, ready to jump and deliver a heavier punch, only to pause as he sensed Akamaru moving in, having recovered. The puppy was preparing to rescue his master from potentially being pounded into a bloody pulp.

Finally, Naruto knocked his opponent away with a swing, before jabbing the tip of the club into the ground with a crash. A strangling, dark atmosphere filled the air. "I guess I'm going to have to take this up a notch," said Naruto dark. He switched the Tetsubo to his right hand, "Normally I would use this against multiple opponents, but this is probably as good a time as any to use it."

Kiba tried to shake off the feeling of dread. He had succeeded in regaining much of his nerve, but he still felt that hand around his throat slowly but gradually squeezing harder. At this point, he knew that he needed to end this match quickly before he died of asphyxiation. To disguise his desperation, he put on a predatory grin. "Giju Ninpo: Jujin Bunshin no Jutsu!" Akamaru leaped onto Kiba's back, and let out a howl before transforming into an exact copy of a now bestial-looking Kiba. The both of them leaped towards their opponent while spinning in the air. "Jūjin Taijutsu Ōgi: Gatsūga!" They're bodies erupted into tornadoes of claws and fangs. However, before making contact with their opponent and literally scratching him to death, Naruto's free hand shot up into the air. Chakra exploded off of him, knocking both Kiba and his Bunshin back and interrupting their jutsu. Immediately the blind Genin dashed forward and hit Kiba in the temple with a quick left hook, at the same time sweeping his legs out from behind with his tetsubo. Kiba crashed onto his back, disoriented, and Naruto raised his club to bring on Kiba's head, only to be attacked by the other Kiba. He was only biting his shackle, but the drool was still pretty gross.

There was a moment where Naruto and his opponent struggled, while the original Kiba scrambled away. Finally, Naruto broke off with a heavy jerk, causing the feral boy to back off before he took an even stronger backhand. As he cleared some space between them, Kiba thought furiously. _Damn it! The dobe was strong before, but how the hell did he get _stronger?! He glared at the red-armed boy. _Hey, wait...both of his arms are red now. And they've got those chains too! Maybe those shackles have sort of...chakra-amplifying seal on them or something, and that red arm is a side effect._ He smiled as he came up with a plan. If he could get rid of those shackles, the match would be his! He nodded to Akamaru.

"What's the matter Kiba?" taunted Naruto, "So scared that you can't even come close to me?"

"Not a chance dobe," shot back Kiba, "But I think I've found a way to even the odds! And once I use it, you're going down!"

"Do your worst, Toilet-head," replied Naruto, not believing his opponent was capable of any such thing. He tucked the tetsubo under his arm and brought his hands up in a familiar hand seal, causing a loud 'poof' before a second Naruto appeared, "I'm just dying to finish this match!"

"And if you won't come to me," added the clone, brandishing his tetsubo in a threatening manner, "Then we'll come to you!"

Both Naruto clones charged in, leaping into the air with their tetsubo ready for a downward swing. The Kiba that they were going after simply stayed down on his knees. He had to time this just right, and ensure that his attempt was a success…otherwise he'd end up a pancake. As they descended, Kiba rolled away just in time for the iron clubs to create another hole in the ground and counterattack with a successful Gatsūga from the flank.

The other Kiba followed the first at the same time, managing to dispel the Kage Bunshin. The remaining Naruto leaped backwards and avoided being ground into dust by the attack, but froze at a sound he heard through the high-pitched whine and whirling of the jutsu: the sound of pressurized snaps and hisses. By the time he landed on both feet with his iron club in hand, he noted that a weight on both arms had been lifted. No, this was not good—and the fact that this was done in an entire stadium of genin was what compounded the error in addition to the pain he was now receiving!

"What's the matter, dobe?" mocked Kiba, holding two of the shackles in his hand as he watched Naruto grab both of his arms in pain, "You suffering some kind of withdrawal? Well don't worry; your pain will be the least of your worries when I beat your junkie ass down!"

"You must have a death wish," Naruto snarled, his words containing a mix of pain and anger, "If you want to get out of this alive, mutt, then you'll give me those back right fucking now. You have no idea what you've just done!"

The Inuzuka heir simply smirked, not realizing the danger he was in. Akamaru, on the other hand, was petrified by the anger suddenly radiating off of Naruto—terrified enough to drop the shackles in his hands. "What? And let you get your undeserved strength back? Puh-lease! How stupid do you think I am? It doesn't take an idiot to figure out that your shackles are a power amplifier, giving you an extra boost of chakra for all those fancy jutsu! The worst you can do now is get everybody to laugh themselves to death as I beat you down in the most humiliating way possible!"

Naruto was actually taken aback. He thought he knew the depths of stupidity that the Inuzuka could sink to, but this was definitely a new one. Kiba's pride and arrogance were blinding him to the danger that he and everyone else was now in. Even through his pain, he had to laugh. "First off, Ki-Baka, I think you're _really_ fucking stupid. If you think that was an amplifier, then you're definitely the idiot here, not me." His face became downright stony, even as his shoulder hunched. "Those aren't for making me stronger, retard. They make me weaker! Congratulations on killing everyone in the room, you god damn piece of shit!" Naruto's legs buckled and he moaned in pain. The moans quickly gave way to a scream of agony; a scream that went on and on, growing deeper and less human by the second as the redness started to spread from his shoulders to the rest of his body.

Kiba froze, horror starting to sink in as he realized just how much of a mistake he'd just made. Slowly, Naruto got to his feet and let out a loud roar before throwing his arm back; a short sword materialized in the air behind him, point down with a flame at the end before slipping into a stance, his claw-tipped fingers curled into talons, ready to scratch his opponent.

…

[In the Stands]

(Team 11)

"What's happening to Naruto?" asked Yūgao, both scared and concerned for her genin.

"He's going through the real Curse of Kazan," said Kurama, catching Yūgao's attention with the fact that she was outside Naruto, "When he is like this, I have no control over him; because I'm not the one possessing him. Now he's being possessed by the real demon…a lesson that the Inuzuka-brat will soon learn."

Kikyo and Meilan said nothing in response to this development. They were too engrossed by the sight before them. Something in their minds was telling them to 'serve the master' as they gazed upon Naruto, not to mention that their already natural desire for him had intensified. What was happening to them? While Yūgao looked around at Team Seven, she saw that the Uchiha family was dead-silent, watching the fight with bated breath…the looks on the twins' faces were unreadable, but there was horror on Mikoto's face.

(Team 8)

The roar had been brief, but it sent shivers of terror up the spines of all that heard it. Everyone had differing reactions to the transformation. "I have a bad feeling about this," Kurenai murmured, "And I don't doubt that Kiba is going to pay with his life."

"Kurenai-sensei, I think would be a logical idea to get Kiba out of there immediately," gasped Shino, his sunglasses shattered by the roar, "I believe that whatever it is that Naruto-san has become is the source of the sound we heard earlier in the Forest of Death. I don't know how, but I do know that my Kikaichu are afraid of Naruto-san."

As she looked on at the fight, Hinata's only emotion was of horror. This monster was Naruto-kun? Then again, she had felt a sort of malevolent presence whenever she neared his red arm. Yet she knew that it was not Naruto's doing (at least, not fully), but whatever it was that seemed to be living in the claw-tipped appendage. When she'd first heard that roar, she never knew what it was that made that sound, but she _did_ know that there was equal parts pain and rage in it, and for that she felt an immense amount of pity for the pain Naruto must be going through. She wished to be there for him, to calm him, to stop him from descending any further into madness. Kiba certainly deserved to die for what he did to Hanabi, but not like this. Not in this way.

(Team 10)

Asuma simply stared at the standoff between Naruto and Kiba, as well as the fact that the former summoned a sword from nowhere. Out of reflex, he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth to flick it away, but found that the tremors wracking his body had already done the job. "This is beginning to look grim," he said seriously, putting in a new cigarette and attempting to light it.

While his sensei struggled to strike up a light for his cigarette, Choji found himself too engrossed in the tension between the two shinobi staring each other down to even grab a chip. His heart was pounding with fear as he recognized the source of the roar he'd heard in the forest. At this point, Naruto's transformation had finished; his hair had become spikier and paler, his face had become more feral and animalistic, and his teeth had become sharper, which only made the Akimichi heir even more nervous.

Ino thought back to the omen she'd seen earlier…of the blind fox that was bitten by a snake, killing the surrounding birds, mice, and the snake that bit it before it died. Was this the truth of what she saw? Was it a warning? But as she studied the now-bestial face of Naruto, she noted that Shikamaru was right; it did look like he was hurting, as if being in that monstrous form was causing pain for him. With that thought on mind, she found herself torn between pity for Naruto's pain, and fear of what he would do next now that he became a monster thanks to that fool Inuzuka.

(Team Gaia)

Kankuro stared at the faceoff between Naruto and Kiba. He wondered what the former would do now, even as he realized that the roaring from the forest was his doing. "What the hell is going on?" he asked uneasily.

"I don't know," answered Temari, "But whatever it is can't be good. It looks like our coming here for safety was for nothing; It seems that roar we heard came from him in that form."

Unbeknownst to her siblings, Gaia had unconsciously started forming up her Suna no Yoroi while shivering at the sight before her. The savage panting of the red-skinned boy was unnerving her to no end, despite normally being that way herself, and what her 'mother' had told her did not calm her down much. She'd said that the limiters on Uzumaki were used to keep the demon sealed in his arm from ever taking control. Her thoughts of fear soon turned into reassurance, however, with the realization that she had just found the ultimate challenge. If she could feed mother this boy's blood, then it would be more than enough to reaffirm her existence! She could be free from all threats to her existence before she went out to kill everyone in the world! But not now; she needed to study this fight to find a weakness in her opponent.

(Team Yugito)

Another Jinchuriki in the stands felt her heart pounding at the sight before her. Yugito studied the blind genin as he started and snarled at his opponent. She could not tell if the adrenaline rush she felt running through her veins was from her fear of being ripped to pieces, or her excitement at the sight of his abs. This was not an ordinary boy. _The Curse of Kazan_, said her tenant, _only a handful have it. I do not envy the people infected with it, especially if they have not been trained with their limiters removed._

_What happens if they are removed, Matabi?_ asked Yugito inwardly to her tenant, worried about what she might hear.

_Death and suffering_, said the Bijū, _The curse transforms the victim into a savage beast and drives them into a murderous frenzy. The sad thing is that throughout the whole ordeal, the victim's cells are constantly destroying and repairing themselves, putting them in a constant state of pain, adding fuel to an already large fire. Even I'm afraid of those poor souls…they may not be as powerful as some of my fellow bijū, but even Son Goku knows to fear their ferocity._

(Team Minet)

"Geez... That idiot's gone and done it now," sighed Len in exasperation, most definitely not looking forward to another tussle with Berserk Naruto, "You want I should go break it up before someone gets hurt, 'Kasia?"

"I highly doubt there's any reason to yet," answered the elven princess, "Dog-boy down there needs to learn a lesson in humility the hard way."

Len merely grunted. "Point. Still, he can't learn if he dies; that'd be the same as skipping class."

"Unless you want another blood-sword in the gut, Len, I'd stay back for a bit," interjected François, "That little trick you pulled may have won the fight last time, but it won't work the next time. I heard a story about a rampaging berserker Minet hunted down a long time ago. The asshole got away after she almost killed him, and next time they met, she tried the same attack on him. This time the clever bastard turned the tables on her and beat her down—he'd _learned_ from the experience. If it weren't for the intervention of her majesty the queen, she wouldn't be alive today."

The tallest elf grimaced and put a hand to his stomach, clearly remembering said sword.

"Besides, I really don't want to test the red queen over there," added Ayakasia, motioning to the red-skinned woman, who briefly glared at them, "I've sensed her power level—she's higher than any of us. Hell, I think she's even stronger than mother."

(Team 9)

Maito Gai looked on at the spectacle with wide eyes. He studied the stance carefully; it reminded him of something he'd heard about in taijutsu circles. Where had he seen it before? "No, that's impossible!" he hissed to himself, realizing what he was likely seeing, "It's supposed to be a myth!"

"What are you talking about Gai-sensei?" asked Lee in curiosity.

The look on Gai's face was mostly horror, with more than a little disbelief. He could not take his eyes off the arena floor, and as he spoke, his voice took on a chill. "If I'm correct, Naruto is using a stance that was, until now, considered a myth. A stance that allowed for an ancient taijutsu style so brutal, so effective, and so deadly that nobody has been able to learn, or even teach it—it is said that even practitioners of Jyūken could have been defeated by this style. What you're looking at my precious student is the dreaded Naraka Stance."

Neji merely snorted and stuck his nose in the air. "There is no such style! Nothing can defeat the might of the Jyūken. Even if it did exist, then it would be fated to fall by my hand! There is no way that anybody can defy fate—least of all a monster wearing the disguise of a little boy!"

Tenten glared at him, furious at his words. She seriously wondered what she'd seen in him, back when she'd tried to use him as a distraction from Naruto, who at the time was away on his training trip. Because honestly, with the way he was now, how could she have thought it a good idea? However, she soon returned her attention to the fight between Naruto and Kiba. Whatever it was that Gai-sensei was afraid of couldn't be worse than what had happened already. Could it?

…

[Naruto vs. Kiba]

"Is that supposed to scare me dobe?" shouted Kiba, with false bravado in his voice, "'Cause I'm not buying it! I'll prove that you're nothing but a sham right now! I'll make all your girls dump you for being a weak playboy! Even your Uchiha whores won't be staying with you for long! Surprised I know? Any Inuzuka or Aburame already knows their so-called 'secret'! It's just that we all swore to our clan heads, out of respect to their mom, to never say a word! And when I beat the crap out of you, I'll prove to those stuck-up Uchiha bitches that you're nothing at all!"

"Y'know, I'm surprised Naruto-san hasn't attacked at all at this point," Len muttered with more than a little amazement, "I mean, I know he probably can't understand everything, but _geez!_ Does he even _hear_ this bullshit?"

Finally done with his latest diatribe, Kiba ran at his opponent for another Gatsūga. Akamaru, on the other hand, stayed where he was out of fear, leaving his master to attack alone. Even as the drill-like attack approached, Naruto stayed still. However, just as it reached him, the berserker let out a bark and finally moved. Kiba's rapid rotation was suddenly halted as Naruto's sudden uppercut smashed into his chin with such force that he was flipped over in midair. Before he could even hit the ground, however, Naruto seized his ankle, swung him up and over his head and smashed him face-first into the ground. Trying desperately to ignore the agony in his broken ribs, jaw, and nose, Kiba heard another bark of madness before he rolled to the side, just in time to avoid Naruto's claws as they slashed easily through the stone floor. Wheezing with effort, Kiba scrambled to his feet, and then leaped at his opponent with a weak swipe of his own claws. The pale-haired boy whirled in a full circle and struck the Inuzuka heir full across the face with a roundhouse kick, then in the chest with a reverse hook kick. Kiba couldn't help but scream open-mouthed in pain as his opponent's clawed toes gashed open his chest, blood pouring from his broken ribs and his mouth.

Kiba only barely managed to land on his feet, barely able to breathe from the pain in his chest. Then more pain escaped his gaping mouth as Naruto used both hands to scratch him over the shoulders, followed by another two hook kicks (one forward, one reverse) that opened yet _another_ cut on his abdomen, blood gushing out and painting his front. He staggered back, his vision blurring and darkening from blood loss. He could still faintly see the sword hovering behind Naruto's shoulder. Kiba blinked. _Did that thing grow bigger?_ Indeed, the blade had lengthened since the Jinchūriki had first summoned it. The flame was still burning at the tip, like a bizarre, inverted candle. What the Inuzuka didn't realize was that he himself was the cause of the blade's growth; every bleeding wound that was inflicted on him was spiritually fed into the sword, making it potentially stronger. Before Kiba could wonder why his opponent hadn't used the blade yet, Naruto vanished. Kiba's eyes widened briefly, before a sudden, crushing blow to his head made him bend over—his opponent had landed an axe-kick from behind his head, causing the blood from his broken jaw to splatter onto the ground. The red-skinned boy spun around once more and landed yet another kick to his chest (a straight one, this time), that sent him tumbling back.

His landing was most painful—cuts practically everywhere, and he was getting more and more tired as he fell to his hands and knees, coughing up blood while trying to stifle a howl of pain due to his broken jaw. This was not supposed to happen! He was supposed to beat down the dobe and start working to pay Hinata back! Naruto was supposed to get weaker and thus make it easier for Kiba to get what he wanted! The playboy was not supposed to turn into a monster, scare the hell out of Akamaru and kick Kiba's ass; and definitely not this brutally.

Kiba was severely weakened, but he had just enough strength to lift his head and watch as Naruto let out a long howl before reaching for the sword over his shoulder. As his red hand closed over the handle, the flame went out and the whole sword began to glow with a fiery light. Setting it over his shoulder, Naruto charged, a grimace twisting his sharp-toothed mouth. As his death approached on powerful legs, time seemed to slow down for Kiba. _This...this is it! _Kiba actually felt tears of regret slide down his face, _I'm going to die in this place!_

Had Naruto been allowed to continue, there was no doubt whatsoever that Kiba would have died. However, between one stride and the other, Kurama appeared behind him. Her arms snaked under his armpits and her hands laced behind his head, forcing it down suddenly while she kicked his legs out from under him and pinned them with one of her own.

In his surprise at being grappled so suddenly and unexpectedly, Naruto's sword went flying out of his hand as his arms were forced up. Those who were not watching the woman subduing him with a choke-hold followed the sword with their eyes as it arced, tumbling through the air, before finally landing point-down in the floor, twenty feet away. There was a single second of silence and stillness. Then the room _exploded._ The ground beneath the sword ruptured and shattered, fragments flying as an enormous pillar of fire erupted upwards from where the sword had pierced. Everyone shielded their eyes against the heat and glare of the flames, which roared high enough to splash against the ceiling, scorching it black.

Finally, the flame dwindled and thinned, before vanishing altogether, leaving a gaping crater where the sword had been and a scorched hole molten into the ceiling—to the point that the sky could be seen. _That could've been me!_ Kiba thought to himself, horrified at the prospect of dying in such a manner.

"Proctor, I would recommend calling the match in favor of Naruto-kun here," said the savage beauty with a dangerous fanged smile, effortlessly holding her struggling and snarling charge back, "Unless you'd like him to finish the job. If so, then you can explain to the clan heads, especially Inuzuka-san, why they're all one heir short." She glanced at Kiba and sniffed, "Not that it'd be much of a loss for her in his case."

Hayate didn't need to be told twice. Truth be told, he was disturbed by that woman's grin. He had no doubt that she could indeed release Naruto and allow him to slaughter everyone in the arena. He was also not looking forward to being on the receiving end of any sword that the blind genin made. "Th-*cough* the winner of this match by default is Uzumaki Naruto," he said loudly, "Now please, *cough-cough* put those things back on now!"

The woman's smile brightened. "No worries, then." With a quick chop to the neck, she knocked Naruto out and slung him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Stopping in front of the (relatively) unhurt Kiba, the red-skinned Amazon winked at the poor boy, causing him to blush, dispel the henge on Akamaru, and then faint. Snorting derisively, she picked up the both sets of limiters and, with a single bound, she jumped all the way up to the balcony. She landed in front of Yūhi Kurenai and the rest of her team before snapping the first two limiters back onto Naruto's arms. "I'd like some smelling salts, if you have them," she said simply.

"U-um!" squeaked Hinata. Kurama glanced up, and almost had to restrain herself from squealing and hugging the exceedingly adorable Hyūga. Said girl shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny, but held out a small, corked vial. "I-I made this a few d-days ago. It m-might...Naruto-kun..." she trailed off, blushing.

Kurama smiled sincerely and took the vial. "It certainly will; thank you," she said. She snapped the other two limiters back on, then popped the cork before waving the vial under the blind Genin's nose.

Naruto jerked and woke up, limbs flailing briefly. "Ah, what happened?" he sat up, grabbing his head, "And why do I feel like I just played tag against the wall with my head?

Kurama shrugged, and then remembered he couldn't see it. "The Inuzuka brat got your limiters off. Don't worry, you didn't kill him. Sadly." She glanced at Kurenai. "...No offense."

The red-eyed Jonin merely frowned confusedly at the Amazonian woman. "None taken, ah..."

"Kurama," said the Kyuubi, extending a hand, which the Jōnin shook, "I'm a close...friend of Naruto's." The corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly at the word 'friend.' "Now, we should get you back to your team..."

"Um, w-wait please," said Hinata quietly. Both stopped in their tracks as she tentatively approached, a small container in her hands, "P-please take this, N-Naruto-kun," she said in a small voice, placing it in his hand, "It's a he-healing cream that I made myself...um w-well, i-in my spare time...I know that's n-not much, but I hope it'll help y-you."

Behind his headband, Naruto's eyebrows went up in surprise. Then his confusion melted into something else. Meilan recognized it instantly. "Thank you, Hinata," he said gently, pulling her into a hug, "I'll treasure this for a long time." Hinata could only squeak as her face flushed bright red from being in physical contact with him. Her blush deepened as dirty thoughts ran through her head at such intimate closeness. Fortunately, she no longer fainted around the boy, but the proximity still made her heart pound, and she felt an embarrassing warmth between her legs.

Finally, Kurama chuckled and broke up the hug. "A word of advice, Hyūga-chan," said the red-skinned woman, her expression turning serious, "If you're paired up with that red-headed Tanuki from Suna or that asshole cousin of yours...no one would think less of you if you backed away. They are simply _too strong_ for you to beat."

Hinata flinched at her words as the woman carried Naruto. She looked after, fascinated by the aura she gave off. It was quite a contradiction; on the one hand, Hinata sensed a potential for great savagery, but at the same time there was regality, gentleness and wisdom. Who was she? But this was not the time to think on it. The next match was coming up, and she needed to see who would be fighting. All the same, she remembered the words of the red-skinned woman. When it was her turn, who would she fight? And what would she do about it?

…

Gekkō Hayate watched as a traumatized Inuzuka Kiba was carted off by the medics, while Doton specialists worked to patch up the holes in the ground. He could not blame the boy for his shivering; not even he felt he could survive a few rounds with the Uzumaki, at least not with those limiters removed. Still, the boy had only himself (more specifically, his arrogance and stupidity) to blame for that one. From the murderous look that the Uchiha Matriarch directed at Kiba, Hayate was obviously not the only one who thought this. He took a minute to cough into his hand, making sure to hide the blood, before turning to address the crowd. "Let's have our next fighters, then!"

Silence fell instantly as the names flashed up on the LED screen. There was a flicker and one name stopped: Hyūga Hinata. The other name continued for another second, then it too stopped. On Hyūga Neji. Hinata stiffened, feeling the blood drain out of her face, and there was a stab of fear in her heart. Then she shook her head furiously and took a deep breath. She had come a long way from the incident from ten years ago, and she would not have her progress end now! Not here! With her resolve reaffirmed, she descended the stairs behind her cousin.

…

[Hyūga Neji vs. Hyūga Hinata]

Hayate watched with trepidation as the two Hyūgas came to a stop in front of him. He raised his hand, but Neji interrupted him. "Just a moment, Proctor. I'd like to say something to my cousin before we begin."

He saw nothing wrong with it, but he could not help the sneaking suspicion that something was up. Hayate nodded silently, giving his permission. "Hinata-sama, step down from this match," Neji said instantly, false respect poisoning his blunt words, "I have already foreseen the end of this match, and already know that it will end in your defeat. You may have bested me once, but I guarantee that I've become stronger since then. There is no shame in surrendering."

"Maybe no shame for you, Neji," replied Hinata coldly, surprising the elder Hyūga with her backbone, "But I have more reason _not_ to back down. Don't think you are the only one who's grown stronger! Proctor, may we begin?"

"Wow," muttered Naruto, surprised as well. There was a surety in her voice that had not been there a few seconds ago. While the stutter was kinda cute, this was...

Hayate nodded, relieved that crisis was averted; for now, at least. He raised his hand, looking between the two. Neji settled into the traditional half-bow stance for Jyūken, but Hinata shifted to a crane stance. If he was surprised, Neji didn't show it.

"Hyūga Hinata vs. Hyūga Neji!" Hayate chopped down, "Hajime!" Instantly the two Hyūga clan members clashed. Neji started off with a jab at his cousin's shoulder, aiming to close her tenketsu, only for Hinata to spin away from the strike. She sprang into the air, lashing out with a kick to the head (which was blocked), then bounced into a straight kick, which caught Neji in the solar plexus and made him stumble back a foot.

Neji felt his forearm and chest throb. With his Byakugan, he had noticed something about both kicks. They both contained chakra, like a normal Jyūken strike. "What is this trickery?" he asked aggressively.

"None whatsoever," Hinata answered evenly, "I simply found a solution to a weakness in Jyūken and am making up for it."

Neji's eyes narrowed at his cousin. What nonsense was this disgraceful heir talking about? "What are you talking about? It's the Jyūken, it has no weakness!"

"There are plenty of weaknesses, but the elders refuse to admit it!" she snapped back, "They fear change, and refuse to acknowledge the fact we rely too much on our hands. I mean, not that it's bad to use our hands at all, but shouldn't we expand our movements to more than the same attack over and over? It makes us predictable!" Her face was becoming redder as she spoke passionately, "So I added kicks to the Jyūken's style! Obviously I haven't perfected it yet, but there is potential for Jyūken to rise to a new level!"

Meilan found herself nodding at Hinata's words. When Kikyo looked at her, she shrugged and said, "What? I use Taijutsu too, and she's right. Powerful as the Jyūken is, it's too predictable."

The whole time she spoke, Neji's expression was twisted with bitterness and fury (so basically the same, only worse), before he finally sneered as she finished. "You speak blasphemy! The fact that you even thought of adding to something already perfect speaks levels of your own deficiencies. It tells me you have no faith whatsoever in a style that has proven itself time and time again to be the ultimate fighting style! And I will prove to you that even your blasphemous and deluded ways are powerless before the wheel of fate and the strength of the Jyūken!" He charged in again, ready to strike again, only for Hinata to keep him back with another straight kick. Even as he stopped himself from running into her, she flipped over and kicked out with a Jyūken strike from her other leg. Using the momentum from the attack, she pulled in her leg and spun, before firing another kick from the same leg with greater force. Neji ducked under the Jyūken kick and managed to close the distance before the second could hit, aiming for her head. However, one of her hands struck out and nailed his shoulder, diverting his own attack into her shoulder as well.

Both Hyūgas backed off. Both had just taken their first real hit in the fight, while moving at the high speed their clan was known for. As they reengaged, Neji found himself not only blocking Hinata's hand strikes, but also having to avoid her kicks. Hinata kept Neji at a distance with her straight Jyūken kicks, while taking every opportunity she could see to attack with her hands. But even as she fought, she hoped Neji would not notice the weaknesses of her style, new as it was. As such, as Naruto listened he could tell that the match was pretty much even. Neji had the advantage in the offensive, but Hinata possessed the superior defense and versatility. Silently he cheered for her whenever she scored a hit and winced when she was the one hit.

They began to slow down, both panting from exhaustion and with chakra burns on their bodies from their opponent's attacks. Neji, however, had a devious grin. It was clear to Naruto, with his ability to read auras, that he had something planned. Once more Neji moved in to attack, but Hinata had another new trick for him. Chakra flared from her heel and she kicked out so fast, Neji had no time to dodge. Her ankle smashed hard into his ribs, cracking one or two, before he was sent flying off to the left. He hit the ground and bounced, but flipped to reorient himself, flipping twice more to distance himself. And still he grinned. Hinata, baffled at her cousin's expression, shifted slightly, only to gasp as both her forearm and calf exploded with pain and went limp. "W-what?!" She fell to her knee and quickly looked with her Byakugan. Her major Tenketsu had almost all been closed in five areas of those limbs.

"Give up," said Neji, spitting out some blood, "You can no longer move that arm and leg, now that I've closed those Tenketsu."

Hinata's eyes widened. _Is…is this it? No! I can't! In front of Naruto-kun…I cannot run away!_ She wanted more than anything to be acknowledged by him. She wanted to make music with him in the band. And most importantly, she wanted to set things right in her family, starting with those inflexible elders. "I always…used to give up," she said haltingly, rising to her feet despite the pain in her leg, "But I no longer have that option…if I start backing down again, I'll never be able to stop! I will overcome all of those who call me a failure, just like I will overcome the Seal that has divided our family, Neji-nii-san!" Neji's face twisted with anger at the honorific, but said nothing.

She struggled to reassume her stance, panting from the agony of her Tenketsu attempting to re-open themselves. It was impossible, but damn it she would try! She tried to get into a stance with one hand, but Neji had crossed the distance between them and struck her shoulder hard, making her stagger and fall down again. "Your fate is to remain weak, Hinata-_sama_," he spat, turning his back on her, "My eyes see the truth, and you will never succeed in making yourself better. Just like you will _never_ mend the rift between the Branch and Main houses. "

"You're wrong." Neji froze. Hinata sat up, coughing up blood, but continued. "Your eyes…see _nothing,_ Neji-nii-san." Once more, slowly, painfully and shakily, she stood up, gazing defiantly at her cousin. "You talk about me fighting fate…but it looks to me like _you_ are the one fighting _your_ fate. Just like…you are the one who has been hurt the most by our family's pride and arrogance." Neji turned around slowly. For a moment, she thought she saw shock and confusion in his blue-tinted eyes, before pure rage suffused his face. He charged with a yell of anger, aiming to hurl a Jyūken strike directly into her heart. _I…can't dodge this one,_ Hinata thought sadly. Time seemed to slow down for her. She closed her eyes. At this point, she only had two regrets: first, that she would not be able to say good bye to Hanabi. And secondly…she had never gotten to tell Naruto her feelings. Would he even have returned them?

"Please. Keep going," hissed a furious voice. Hinata's eyes snapped open and she stared. Neji was being pinned by the Proctor Gekkō Hayate, who gripped his attacking wrist; Naruto's sensei Yūgao, who held her blade at his stomach; and his own sensei Maito Gai, who was holding him back from under his arms. In front of him was Naruto, who was hefting his tetsubo in a low stance, and looked as if he were about to castrate him. Hinata almost gasped as she looked at Naruto's face (the little of it she could see, anyway), which was twisted with a fury that far surpassed the one in Neji. "Go on," he repeated, the runes on his limiters glowing ominously, "Just give me an _excuse to wipe out your descendants!"_

"Neji, you promised that you wouldn't involve your family matters in the exams!" Gai growled at Neji, looking extremely disappointed, "So explain to me why three Jōnin are holding you back from losing your manhood to a Genin because you just tried to kill your cousin."

The Hyūga prodigy only scoffed. "She's already beaten." But he relaxed, and the Jōnin had to let him go.

Suddenly, Hinata gasped and started coughing up copious amounts of blood, before her legs finally gave out and she collapsed. Instantly dropping his tetsubo, Naruto caught her before she hit the ground, frantically putting two fingers to her neck. "She's alive, but her heartbeat's erratic!" he said, panicking, "She needs medical attention NOW!"

Kurenai immediately took her student from him and ran off. She needed to hurry, or her precious student might die! Gai and Yūgao both walked back to the stands, giving Neji the evil eye. Wishing he could join them, Hayate sighed quietly and raised his left hand. "Winner by both knockout and default: Hyūga Neji!"

Naruto didn't move, still kneeling in front of a pool of Hinata's blood. "You see, Uzumaki?" asked Neji, glaring at him, "Now you see what happens to those who try to defy their fate." A hand brushed against the blood, before pressing into it. "A pathetic weakling such as her never stood a chance!" The fingers curled, blood soaking into the skin further. "And if she couldn't beat me, what makes you think you can?" Smirking, he turned away from Naruto, having finished his piece (for the umpteenth time). Which was a shame, because as he turned around, Naruto did so as well, his face a mask of calm as his fingers curled around the handle of his fallen tetsubo.

Neji paused as he heard a slight grunt. He looked around, and froze as Naruto's club blasted past his left ear and smashed into the wall behind him, embedding itself in the stone. Slowly, Naruto walked towards the elder Hyūga, who was still frozen by this sudden, violent outburst. "First off, Hyūga," Naruto said calmly, although anger was clearly rising in his voice, "I'm blind, I can't see shit. Second, if Hinata was fated to lose from the start, then how did she make you _bleed?"_ he poked Neji in the chest for emphasis, making gasp in pain at his cracked ribs and stumble back, "Third, if you call her pathetic again, I'll kill you, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Fourth, the only reason I'm holding back right now is because I'd rather not get disqualified. Which reminds me…" He slapped his bloody hand against Neji's chest, leaving a red hand-print over his heart. "When we fight in the finals, I will destroy you. You _and_ your predestination crap. I don't care what either of our fates are. I. Will. Beat you. I swear it on Hinata's blood, which _you_ spilled! Don't you fucking forget that!"

He stalked past the older boy, pausing to wrench his tetsubo out of the wall before ascending the stairs. Neji glared after the blond. _You dare challenge one of the Hyūga elite? Fool! You have no idea what you're up against! No one can defy Fate!_

Even as Meilan escorted Naruto back to their team, he thought of Hinata. He vowed to avenge her, to knock that smug prick off his high horse. By the time Naruto was done with him, Neji would see just how wrong he was. And if he failed… Naruto's hand brushed the hilt of Mizu-hime. He would rather commit seppuku than fail Hinata. But hopefully, it would not come to that.

…

**_A/N: Sorry it took a while. Christmas holidays, coupled in with school projects have eaten my time as much as Halo 4. I can only apologize for the lateness, and hope that my creative juices still flow hot and free. Also, there will be a poll as I'm beginning to consider changing my mind about not adding Tsunade to the harem. You can also tell me in your review, but please, please, PLEASE tell me yes or no._**

**_By the way, I'm hearing word that my punishment to Kiba in chapter 7 was a bit over-the-top. If you have any suggestions on a better punishment for Kiba short of neutering him, then I'll take said suggestions into consideration._**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Murderous Wave—the Asura lets out an aura mixed in with their killing intent. The effect it has is very harmful to enemies, causing them to be demoralized—sometimes to the point of death as being within range of this aura causes a feeling of being gradually strangled to death._**

**_Mountainous Wheel_**

**_Extreme Overkill—the Berserker creates a flaming blood sword that hovers behind him. As he lands hits on his opponent, the sword gets larger from the opponent's blood until it reaches maximum size. Once the sword is used, a miniature nuclear explosion happens upon hitting the ground._**

…

**_Songs Used:_**

**_"Sunday" by Les Friction—Len vs. Yoroi_**

**_"Darkened Streets" by Homestuck—Len vs. Grimdark Yoroi_**

**_"We Will Never Fight Alone"—Tsukiko vs. Ayakasia_**

**_"Ultimate Secrets" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Naruto vs. Kiba and Akamaru_**

**_"Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" by Perfect Circle from "Rage"—Berserk Naruto vs. Kiba_**

**_"NFL Fox Fanfare"—Meilan struggles against Kagemane no Jutsu_**

**_"One More" by Superchick—Neji vs. Hinata_**

**_"Arrival" by Neil Davidge from "Halo 4"—Hinata rises to continue fighting Neji_**

**_"Overtaken" from "One Piece"—Naruto promises to beat Neji_**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_Oni—the Japanese ogre; normally horn-headed and humanoid, these yōkai are barbaric and strong. They are so strong that they are normally seen using clubs of all kinds with about the same skill as a samurai swordsman, and it does not help that said clubs are rumored to be magical (hence the saying 'oni ni kanabo'). In olden days, not all oni were bad but were given a bad rep later on to make the samurai look better much like the dragons of European mythology, such that 'oni' often refers to someone just plain being mean._**

**_Crane stance—a famous Kung Fu stance in which the practitioner balances on one leg with the other leg held up._**

**_Half-bow stance—a Kung Fu stance where the practitioner has one leg straight and the other is bent into a lower stance. The Jūken makes heavy use of this stance._**


	27. Building Tensions

_**A/N: And now we have the conclusion to the preliminaries…and the continuation of the race to decide Tsunade's place in the harem. I apologize, as art school takes a lot out of you. All the same, do read and review would you kindly? Before I have to get Frank Fontaine to help me out.**_

_**BlazingDervish: I haven't considered making Naruto a Male Fighter mainly because I thought the Slayer classes seemed to fit him more (also because the Slayer is my favorite class). But you do have something there; it makes me wonder what'll happen if Naruto does in fact become a Male Fighter instead of a Slayer. It also makes me wonder as to how the story would change, as well as Gai and Lee's expression when they get their asses handed to them by Naruto…perhaps you can take that idea up, seeing as you're likely a fan of the Male Fighter, but as a gift to you I may consider making an omake in the future based on your idea (or at least an experimental first chapter).**_

…

[Up in the stands]

As Naruto listened in on the fights, the frustration in his mind boiled continuously to about half-way. So far, this was the third match in a row to be finished off fairly quickly—a bad thing in Naruto's mind, as he needed a distraction from thinking about Neji's infuriating actions. Although, he supposed that thinking of all the horrible ways for the asshole to die _was_ a good use for his pent-up rage and frustration. But still, he needed something to really take a break from the anger that was threatening to erupt from the surface, but that was impossible given how short the matches were.

First was the fate of one Tsurugi Misumi. The Genin had had the right idea to separate his opponent, Kankuro, from the bandaged parcel on his back. He then used a weird jutsu to wrap his limbs around his target's own and started squeezing. However, Kankuro simply grinned as a crack had formed on his cheek. Then the face fell off, revealing Kankuro to be a sharp-toothed wooden automaton with black hair. The bandaged parcel then revealed itself to be the real Kankuro, who was controlling his puppet Karasu. The Konoha-nin surrendered immediately.

The next thing to really set him off was the fact that Shino didn't even need to attack for his opponent to flee. No, all he had to do was let out a large Kikaichū swarm from his coat, and the pathetic Kumogakure Genin surrendered. Not that Naruto minded bugs; in fact he thought the beetles were cool…not to mention that he liked the relaxing buzzing from Shino's coat.

Finally, the match with that other elf, François, was the longest of the three short matches, but still short; she toyed with her opponent for a while before the other Kumo-nin found himself crossing into Hell. The bronze-skinned elf had an arm around his neck, ready to slit his throat with one knife while the other was pressed harshly against his nether-regions in such a manner that total castration was possible (which was fitting, given the sexist and racist comments he'd been throwing at the elf). As a matter of fact, the idiot just _had_ to open his mouth and call her a 'prick-eared slut' once more in his position. It was an unfortunate mistake that cost him both his life and his manhood.

Seriously though, if he did not get a diversion from Neji soon…he was startled from his thoughts when he felt a pair arms wrap around his head. His nose was assaulted with the scent of blood, burning incense from a temple and foxes while his face experienced the warmth of a pair of large, firm breasts. "Don't worry about it Naru-kun," said Kurama mirthfully, enjoying the looks of envy on both Meilan and Kikyo's faces while she stroked his hair, "You'll get your chance to avenge the adorable Hyūga soon. In fact, I have a surprise for you if you calm down."

"Sorry to interrupt your personal time with Naruto-kun, Kurama-san," Meilan began, trying to hold back her outright envy at the older woman, "But don't you think your shirt feels wet right now?"

Kikyo looked down at Kurama's shirt and saw a fresh trail of red originating from Naruto's head that was spreading across her chest before extending down…if the red-skinned Amazon noticed this, she did not show it. Her glare was playful, but with a hint of 'I'm serious' in her eyes. "You two are just jealous that I got to him before either of you did! Besides, I'm his future wife…and as the _alpha female_ of this pack, I'm _supposed_ to give him a bloody nose this way!"

Oh no she didn't! What grated on Kikyo's nerves was not the vixen's unspoken challenge. It was the way she said it, as if it were an established fact. She immediately thought to herself that she'd get hers one day. Meilan on the other hand was silent, as there was an unspoken agreement between her and the vulpine Amazon, back when she'd met her for the first time. However, on that same day, she had also made it a personal goal of hers to dethrone the red queen as alpha female.

As if she were reading their thoughts, Kurama silently giggled to herself with Naruto's face still in her cleavage, his mind still fried from the overload of sensual information. Unfortunately for the two of them, their respective answers to her claim died in their throats as the proctor called out the next match. "The next match will be *cough, cough* Higurashi Tenten and Temari! Will the two of you please come down?"

…

[Tenten vs. Temari]

As she stood her ground, glaring daggers at her opponent, Tenten knew that Naruto was listening in. Truth be told, on the way down, she was inwardly outraged when she overheard that red-skinned woman's claim of being his future wife and alpha female of a 'pack.' What was that skank doing with Naruto-kun, anyway? What right did she have to call herself an alpha female, when she was an equally possible candidate? But now was not the time for such thoughts… Tenten ran her hands on the two scrolls in her pouch, knowing that she'd get her answers later—but for now, she had a ponytailed bitch she had to take care of.

Hayate raised his hand, and looked between the two girls. When the tension was high enough, the hand came down. "Higurashi Tenten and Temari: Hajime!" The two Kunoichi immediately leaped backwards as the fight began. Tenten opened up the fight with a barrage of kunai, which were immediately swatted away by Temari's closed fan. Perfect! With a quick draw, she pulled a scroll out of her pouch before running a bloodied finger over a line. Instantly, with a puff of smoke a broadsword appeared and was promptly thrown at her target, followed by several spears. However, Temari was not idle either, and she jabbed the tip of her fan into the ground to block the sword. Then, as the spears advanced, she twirled and yanked the fan out again, deflecting them. With a burst of chakra, plus the momentum of the spin, she leaped forward to cross the distance between her and Tenten, fan poised to crush her skull.

Tenten quickly sidestepped the impromptu bludgeon and brought out a katana, before going into a sweeping kick to try and trip her opponent. Temari, left vulnerable from her failed melee attack, stumbled over Tenten's foot, before a second kick to her solar plexus knocked her into the air. Tenten followed up with a upward slash, which connected solidly with (and through) the blond girl's neck. However, even as she relaxed, sure of her victory, Temari's body vanished in a blast of smoke, leaving a decapitated straw doll in her place. "Hah~," whined a voice behind the bun-haired girl, "I liked that doll." Even as Tenten jumped away and whirled around to face Temari, she smirked and said, "I guess I'll just have to make you pay by breaking all those cheap toys of yours!"

_Crap! Looks like I'll have to take things up a notch!_ Tenten's hands flew through a few hand-signs and slapped the ground, summoning a pair of scrolls. "Excuse me? Those 'toys' were all hand-made by me!" Tenten said lightly, though with some heat in her voice, "My dad has a strict 'Break it and buy it' policy…so excuse me if I don't let you slide for calling my work cheap! Soshōryu!"

Both scrolls exploded with smoke, which trailed up into the air in the shape of two swirling dragons, before fading to show the unrolled scrolls. Tenten leaped high into the air, instantly unsealing a weapon in each hand, which she then hurled at Temari with great force, more weapons instantly appearing to be thrown. Within seconds, the bun-haired brunette was hurling a storm of metal at the Suna Kunoichi, who only smirked. With a flick, she opened her fan and swung, unleashing a blast of wind which turned the raining blades. A second, stronger swing sent them flying back at Tenten, cutting her body all over. A final swing caused a tornado to roar up, tossing Tenten around and sucking the air out of her lungs.

Dizzy and weakened as the tornado died down, she started to fall, already unconscious. Sniffing in contempt, Temari snapped her fan closed and propped it on the ground; if Tenten kept falling, she would land on the end of the metal weapon and break her back. However, there was a confused, sudden flurry of movement. Something landed on the fan alright, but it wasn't Tenten. It was Naruto, holding Tenten's unconscious body in a bridal carry and crouching on the end of the fan. He looked down at her, frowning seriously. "That wasn't necessary," he said firmly, "You'd already won; to continue like you were would only humiliate and cripple her."

Temari blushed and stuttered, "S-shut up, dumbass! The victor can do what they like with the loser! Besides, what's she to you?"

She instantly knew that he was not amused as his frown deepened and he craned forward. "That's my business," he snapped, making her step back, "I care about her. End of story."

"Uzumaki Naruto," called out Hayate, "While I *cough-cough* while I commend you on the save, you will be disqualified if you get involved in another fight. This is *cough* your only warning."

Sensing her victory, Temari smirked defiantly at her fellow blonde. Unfortunately, the frown on his face sent an embarrassing heat between her legs. _Jeez, what's wrong with me?_ "Aa," Naruto acknowledged, startling the girl from Sunagakure, "I hear you, proctor-san. Now, can you call the medics and the match in favor of Temari? Tenten's unconscious, but fine for now, though that may change if she doesn't get medical attention soon."

Hayate smiled. The way it looked to him, it was like the boy had matured without his help. It filled him with regret that he and Yūgao were unable to adopt him, but it also made him proud that Naruto had the potential to be a great man one day, even without them. So long as those limiters stayed on his arms, anyway. With a hand up in the air, he made the call. "Temari wins this match by knockout and default!"

Temari left the arena, but Naruto stayed to carry Tenten to the stretcher. Unfortunately, the medics that arrived were not the kind that he looked forward to meeting. "What do you want, demon?" barked one of the medics.

"Just for you to do your job," Naruto answered calmly, though coldly, placing Tenten on the canvas. He was not surprised at the man's behavior. Aside from Hazama-sensei, along with a few others, Naruto did not exactly trust medical practitioners by and large. Given the numerous violations of the Hippocratic Oath he'd been subjected to in Konoha General Hospital, nobody could blame him.

The medic scowled, let out a 'hmph!' and left. When he was sure he was out of earshot of the demon-brat, he started mumbling, "Great! Just great! First my lunch is disturbed, then I have to watch that horror show of an Inuzuka, no thanks to the demon brat!"

"I know, Kenji! Now we're gonna look bad, all because we have to carry this demon-loving sl-" The medic never finished his sentence as a blur had appeared before him. When things settled down, he saw a short sword ready to slice into his stomach, while his colleague was being threatened with the tip of a katana blade pointed at his throat. Both medics trembled in fear, seeing that the one threatening them was none other than the 'demon brat.' Two of them, in fact.

"I can take insults just fine, it's not like I haven't heard them before, but if either of you even thinks of finishing that sentence, your reputations will be the last thing you have worry about. Got me?" With a bit of effort, the two medics answered him with a whimpered 'yes.' "Okay then. Here's how this'll work: I'm going to let the both of you go. If I hear that she is mistreated in any way, I will end you and everyone else that had a hand in her suffering before any of you can scream for the Hokage to save your hypocritical asses! And don't think for a second that you can lie to me—if there is so much as a millimeter-wide bend in that Hippocratic Oath of yours, you can forget about me killing you: I'll make you all suffer so much that it'll make a trip to T&I (which the Hokage would most definitely send you to) look like a bright and sunny day at the fucking massage parlor in the Hyūga complex. Now get the fuck out of my face before I change my mind!"

Once the clone dispelled, the two medics scampered away with their charge still on the stretcher. Satisfied, the Naruto that remained also vanished in a puff of smoke, relaying information back to the original.

…

"Let's get this show on the road," said Hayate, looking up at the board. The names flew through the machine so quickly that they were impossible to see, increasing tensions between the remaining competitors. Even Gaia trembled with excitement, wondering who her next victim would be. Finally it stopped on two names. "Will Nī Yugito and Shimura Kikyo please come on down?"

…

[Kikyo vs. Yugito]

"Watch yourself down there," said Naruto, as Kikyo started to leave for the stairway, "I've had a good feel of Yugito-san's chakra levels. They're like mine—not enough for as large an amount of chakra, but still way above a normal human's and about as concentrated as mine."

"Thanks for the tip," she said simply. The young Shimura continued down the stairs, analyzing her opponent for herself. Naruto was quite right, though she already knew of Yugito's status as a Jinchūriki. Her grandfather had sent her out once or twice to spy on the other nations. As such, she was aware of the identities of each village's Jinchūriki, having ascertained that information herself for Danzo.

During the previous matches, she had forgone watching for the most part in order to see how ready she could be. Her inspection revealed that she had six entirely full ammunition drums for her crossbow, including the drum for 'special' ammo, which was for if she had to fight up close. Her normal bows were still unused, since she'd been unable to properly fight long-range in the forest. She also still had a few grenades, plus other explosive ordinances and a few…surprises she had saved up. If all else failed, she still carried her trusty, standard-issue Tantō.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Yugito too studied her opponent. As the Shimura girl summoned a composite bow and a quiver of arrows, the Jinchūriki had a feeling of unease. Something about the smaller girl was setting off the 'worry' part of her brain. She shook her head to clear it. No…she was just imagining things. All the same, something told her she avoid the egg-shaped things hanging from Kikyo's bandolier. As they both came to a stop, Yugito had to look down to be able to meet the Shimura's eyes.

Clearing his throat nervously, Hayate raised his hand as he glanced between the two Kunoichi. "Nī Yugito and Shimura Kikyo!" he chopped downward and barked, "Hajime!" (setting off another fit of coughing) Kikyo instantly leaped away from Yugito, loading an arrow as she did so. Her first shot was aimed at the head, but her opponent ducked before giving pursuit, her nails lengthening. Unfortunately for the blond, her opponent stubbornly kept distance between them, occasionally pausing to take potshots at her with her bow. Impatiently, Yugito leaped and slashed the arrows with her claws, landing on one foot and throwing herself forward to try and eviscerate the girl. Of course, Kikyo only had to backstep out of the way before responding with yet another barrage of arrows, which the Jinchūriki dodged, retracting her claws as she rolled to the side.

Yugito could only look on with fury in her eyes as she stood back up, unconsciously re-extending her claws for her next attack. The Kumo-Kunoichi was highly frustrated at her opponent's game of keep-away. Grudgingly, she could only tip her hat to the archer; her aim was pretty much dead on (pun not intended) and she was pretty fast. Unfortunately for her, she was going to have to die for being such a pain in the ass. _This alley-cat wants to play long-range? Fine! Two can play at that game!_ Yugito retracted her claws, before flipping through some hand seals and picking up a piece of rubble from the ground, which ignited with blue flames. She grinned evilly and wound up, using her foot as a crosshair, before throwing the burning rock at her target.

Not showing any surprise, Kikyo leaped away from the shot. She expected the throw to be normal; a straight but arcing trajectory, presumably aimed at her head. However, to her surprise, the rock did not fly straight, but instead veered to the side in her direction; it still missed her head, though. Yet the Kumo Jinchūriki was still grinning. Kikyo figured out a moment later why when she noticed her quiver was on fire. "Shit!" she ditched it immediately, throwing it to the side to burn itself out, before glaring daggers at her opponent. Then she too grinned and reached for the bandolier at her waist, pulling out a grenade. "So, you wanna play with fire?" she asked, "Alright then, have some more!" She pulled the pin.

Yugito was suddenly nervous. The way her opponent was gripping the lever of the object seemed to indicate that it was a complicated device. She had no idea what it was, but she had a suspicion that it wouldn't be good. Kikyo tossed the black thing and jumped backwards, the object bouncing three along the floor. To her credit, Yugito figured out what would happen and leaped away on the second bounce. On the fourth bounce, the ovoid object exploded, spitting shrapnel everywhere. _Grenades!_ Yugito realized, _That's what those are!_ The Kumo-nin had heard of the dangerous hand-sized explosives, but had never actually seen them before. Now, though, a feral smile grew on her face. _True flame versus Explosives…this will be a good challenge._

The two Kunoichi circled each other slowly, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Yugito picked up another rock, instantly igniting it, while Kikyo pulled the pins of two more grenades, one black, one green. They stared each other down intensely. Who would move first? The answer to that turned out to be Kikyo, who suddenly darted to the side and threw the black grenade. Yugito countered with her flaming rock, causing the hand-held bomb to burst into flames. She then leapt away as well to avoid the green grenade, which exploded into more omnidirectional shrapnel. It took only an instant for the Jinchūriki to regain her bearings before she started running after opponent. She sprang into the air, extending her claws to full disemboweling length. Kikyo, however, rolled out of the way and summoned her hand-crossbows, rapidly firing her special bolts. Some were laced with Hyōton chakra, others with Raiton or Katon, but all of them kept the Kumo Kunoichi busy. She danced and slashed her way through the elemental ammo, eventually drawing close enough to Kikyo to swipe at her. The dark-green-haired girl only barely got away with a cut across her abdomen.

This was getting ridiculous! At this rate, the Shimura was going to wear her out, while _she_ still had plenty of ammo to use. Then Yugito remembered that she had ammo too. Reaching into her pouch, she remembered that she still had plenty of shuriken and kunai left, but compared to her opponent, she was harder pressed to make every shot count. She waited and watched. Her opportunity to strike would come…now! With a quick draw, she pulled out two shuriken, quickly charged them with Katon chakra and flung them at Kikyo. Her target, Kikyo's next two ammo drums, went up in a blaze and had to be dropped as the moss-haired girl was forced to jump out of the way of a burning kunai.

…

[In the stands…]

With uncharacteristic quietness, Anko walked along the back of the stands, watching her quarry, who was overlooking the arena pensively. She paused to say hi to 'Nai-chan on the way, but even then she could hear this…voice in the back of her head, hissing 'serve.' It only happened when she drew near to Naruto or either of the Uchiha twins, but she was compelled to obey. The strange thing was that the order seemed to strengthen when Naruto had transformed into that red-skinned monster. What was happening to her? Why was she feeling such things towards Naruto?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a silky, seductive voice from behind her, startling her. "Oh, so you came after all. You smell as nice as I remember…Hebi-hime."

Before Anko could react, a pair of strong, feminine arms suddenly caught hold of her. One hand came up from under her armpit, up between her breasts and pushed her chin up, while the other wrapped itself around her middle and pulled her back into a pair of firm breasts. She struggled futilely, but could not move in the slightest. Who was this woman? Why did she call her 'Hebi-hime,' when the last person to call her that had been…Kushina-sama?

"You'll be wanting to talk with Naruto-kun." It was a statement, not a question, Anko knew. This woman scared her, scared her and inspired envy. It did not help that, to her embarrassment, the gentle voice was starting to turn her on with the way it brushed against her ear. Now her instincts were whispering for her to 'worship the goddess.' "Well, I suppose it's only fair. I'll let you take Naruto-kun wherever you like; but I'll be there too. Kushi-chan might have treated you like a daughter when Orochi-teme left, but Mina-kun treated Kakashi as a son." What was left unsaid was what had happened to him. That was fine; Anko could guess for herself.

Anko nodded mutely and was let go, allowing her to get a look at the woman who'd caught her unawares. She had red skin and eyes, pointed ears, clawed fingers and toes, and a sleek, muscular build that spoke of both savagery and regality. _Who is she?_ Anko wondered, _How can she refer to Kushina-sama and Minato-sama so familiarly?_ Then it clicked, and she got it. She opened her mouth, already having a question in mind, but a finger to her lips stilled her tongue.

"Not right now," said the Kyūbi no Yoko with a flirty smile, "First you should talk to Naruto-kun, ne? After that, I'll answer any questions you have."

Anko was surprised at being blown off, even if so politely. Hadn't Kushina-sama referred to her as a 'horny bitch?' This royal beauty did not quite match what her previous container described about her. The choice of clothing (was that a bikini under that shirt?) might have been considered a little slutty, but then, Anko wasn't exactly one to talk. However, she was startled out of her thoughts by Naruto clearing his throat. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said politely as she turned to him, "I had some stuff to do. I heard you wanted to see me. Is that true?"

"Yeah," said Anko, calming down, "But I think we're going to have to go somewhere private for this."

…

[Kikyo vs. Yugito]

With a hiss of irritation, Kikyo threw down her crossbows. _I need to end this match quickly,_ she thought, _That last attack got me in the middle of reloading. Not only that, but now she has an opportunity to get my grenades away from me!_ Then again, she had been setting up for this exact moment. Among the members of the Five Elements, Kikyo knew that she was the weakest, but was no slouch when it came to close-quarters combat. She gripped her Tantō, calming her nerves a little; but she hoped it would not come down to Taijutsu. It was clear to her that Yugito was the better of the two at that range. She still had one satchel left, but she had to use it properly, otherwise she'd run the risk of getting separated from it like the others.

Yugito charged in, nails extended. At the last moment, Kikyo leaped into the air, reached into her satchel and hurled ten dinner-plate sized objects to the ground. They were all gray disks with a blinking red light. Naruto knew from his chakra scan, the muffled sound of their impact, and the high-pitched whine they gave off that these were more of Kikyo's plastic explosives. Now he was concerned, because from what he was able to tell, there were enough explosives spread around to level the entire tower, if not the stadium, in one go. What was she planning?

Kikyo landed, her hand gripping the remote detonator, with easy access to the trigger. She sneered at her opponent as her thumb hovered dangerously over the red button. "You know, in ROOT, we're taught to either go all in or not at all. There's no room for defeat," she said matter-of-factly, "You've forced my hand here. I didn't want to do this, not now that I've got something to live for; but this is the only tactic left that can work for me. You see, there's enough C4 here to kill the both of us in an instant. There's nowhere you can run to; it's spread out over the whole battlefield. You make a move and I'll press the button, so what'll it be?"

Yugito stared at Kikyo with a mixture of both horror and incredulousness. She had heard an explosion out in the Forest of Death earlier on and had wondered where it'd come from; well that was that question answered. Part of her wanted to call her opponent's bluff, but her instincts stopped her. The look in Kikyo's eyes was totally serious; she fully intended to kill the both of them if necessary. And that scared Yugito. Finally she sighed angrily. "Tch, fine. Proctor, she wins! I'm surrendering," she said loudly, retracting her nails, "But next time I'll get even with you, Marimo!"

Kikyo only smirked and closed the cover for the detonator, storing it back in her satchel. "Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that, kitty-cat."

It was with a sense of relief that Hayate raised his right hand. "Winner by forfeit, *hack* -Shimura Kikyo! We'll take a five minute break so that- *cough cough* -so that the staff can clean up the battleground."

The moss-haired girl returned to the stands with a self-satisfied grin at her win. That grin faded as she noticed that her favorite blond was gone. "He and Kurama left with that proctor woman from the second test," Meilan explained, answering the Shimura's unasked question, "Something about wanting to talk to him. I think the two of them were close at some point a long time ago."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed as she thought back to the rumors she'd heard in ROOT. There had been talk that Orochimaru's former apprentice had been placed on Naruto's guard detail. She had no idea what Mitarashi Anko would want to speak with Naruto about, but that did not help the feeling of jealousy she had, which Balloon-girl seemed to share.

…

[Elsewhere in the Tower…]

As Naruto was being lead down the hall by Kurama, he could not help but feel apprehensive. Whatever Anko wanted to say must be rather important, if she wanted to drag him away from the matches for it. That plus the fact that she'd wanted to see him when he got to the tower... Naruto's thoughts were cut off by Kurama, who put an arm across his chest to stop him. He heard a door being opened.

Kurama took his hand again to make him move forward. As she did so, he sent out a 24 kHz chakra pulse to scan the room. The scan revealed a bookshelf against the wall, a table and some chairs in the middle, and writings on all of the surfaces. Kurama winced and rubbed at her temples. "Oi, quit it," she said, annoyed, "I can hear that."

"Ah yeah, right," Naruto replied apologetically. To Anko he said, "After what happened on my birthday, I've learned to be more careful."

Anko understood what he meant, and was hurt that he didn't trust her. She did not blame him, though. Though they'd never met face-to-face, Anko knew what had happened; in fact, she'd been the one to torture the guilty party. Naruto and Meilan had gone out for his birthday to the Ichiraku's for dinner. Since Naruto was still the most hated person in the village, they'd locked up the apartment tighter than a virgin's ass. However, it seemed that it hadn't been enough; one of the Civilian Council members had apparently paid off a few Naruto-hating Jōnin and Chūnin to kill Naruto and kidnap Meilan. The couple had returned to their apartment to find an ambush from the corrupt Shinobi, only for most of the Chūnin to be killed off when the two teamed up. By the time the ANBU had arrived, all of the Jōnin were dead, and only four of the Chūnin lived to tell the tale. And tell they did, by the time Anko was done with them. Afterward, the councilman who'd hired them was executed in his home, using one of her most poisonous snakes. The man had been using the toilet at the time, much to the snake's disgust and general irritation.

"Don't worry," Anko assured him, getting over her momentary depression, "This chamber's meant for Fūinjutsu, which I've never been too good with. No one comes here unless they want to do some experimenting, or to remove a seal. Plus, it's full of privacy seals, so it's good for interrogation...which I'm not going to be doing today."

"You can trust her, Naruto-kun," said Kurama, cutting off Naruto, "I can tell that she has no ill will towards you. If she did...I'd have killed her already."

Anko shivered at the dangerous grin on the other woman's face. Well, it wasn't like she could get away with pissing off the Queen of the Bijū, not that she was thinking of doing any such thing. She closed the door behind her, once Naruto and the Kyūbi had entered. The Snake Mistress was dreading this moment, mostly because the red-skinned lady could skin her alive, with no one around to hear her scream. Not that anyone would care about her, anyway. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself. "I...well, I don't really know where to start. Naruto-kun, what do you remember from before that old man took you away; back when you had ANBU guarding you?"

This was not what he'd expected. Where was she going with this? "...I remember a lot," he began, "I remember that after Hokage-jiji gave me my apartment, I started seeing these people in black with white animal masks out of the corner of my mind. Since you've all but said it, I guess those ANBU were sent to keep an eye on me. I remember that some of them hurt me as well, but one of them in particular was nice to me. It's been a long time since I heard from her, but I remember that she did a lot for me. Once or twice she dropped the ball, majorly, but I just...knew that she sincerely tried her best to do what she could to help me. She comforted me when I...when I lost my pride. She would always make sure I got home safely every night. I always saw her from a distance and thought I felt, I dunno, maybe some kind of love? Even when I went to the hospital, she was there, making sure it would be Hazama-sensei treating me and not one of the...worse ones."

"When GSD-sensei took me away for training, I made myself a promise. I vowed to use the power I gained to protect everyone who mattered to me; Hinata-chan, Ayame-chan and Teuchi-jiji, Hokage-jiji, Meilan and so on. And I promised that I'd find the ANBU named Hebi and pay her back for everything she did for me. I'd make it up to her for showing me love when so few people did back then. But when I came back to the village, Hokage-jiji only told me that she'd left the force and got promoted to Tokubetsu Jōnin. He said he wasn't allowed to say who she was after promotion. I know it makes sense, but I want to find her and thank, and congratulate her on the promotion, I guess."

Anko was stunned. Stunned and deeply touched. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out; instead she felt tears at the corners of her eyes. Finally, she only croaked out, "You're welcome."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up. It took him a moment to realize what she'd said, then to connect the dots. His surprised look became an unreadable expression. "Anko-san...you're Hebi?"

"Y-yeah," she said quietly, "Naruto...I know I failed at the times when it mattered most, when you were...defiled, and," she took a breath, "And I'm sorry about that. I tried, I really did-"

"It's okay, Hebi-nee-chan," he interrupted gently, "The fact that you cared, _really_ cared is more than enough. I just wish I could really see your face, rather than just a rough outline."

In an instant Anko embraced the blond passionately and tightly, ignoring the sudden increase in her body heat. Finally breaking down, she cried into his shoulder, overjoyed that he'd forgiven her, when she had not given herself that chance. "As touching as this little scene is," Kurama suddenly said, breaking up the hug, "Could you please wait outside, Naruto-kun? It's time for Anko-chan and I to talk." Naruto frowned at her words, but could detect no malice behind them, so he did as he was told. When the door had shut behind him, Kurama faced Anko. "So, you have questions. Ask away."

Anko asked the first thing that she'd been wondering. "Why? Kushina-sama said that you loved her. Why did you kill her and Minato-sama?"

Kurama smiled sadly. "Well, if we're going to be pointing fingers, let's look to the ones who started the whole mess: the Uchiha clan, and their stupid Sharingan. Two times in my life, they took control over me when my mental defenses were down. The first time was with that stupid closet pervert, Uchiha Madara- I swear, he is! -he used his eyes to take control of me the first time I had sex with a man. There I am, just about to cum, then _bam! _Blackness. Next thing I know, I'm hogtied on the ground and this redhead in a dominatrix suit is questioning me. Over time, I would come to learn that she was an even bigger pervert than Madara, and I would love her. Her name...was Uzumaki Mito."

Anko could only blush, though she grinned at the thought that the Shodaime's wife was more of a pervert than Uchiha Madara (and an apparently open one). She filed the juicy tidbit away and went back to the task at hand. "So what was the second time?"

Kurama grimaced angrily at the memory. "The second time...was immediately after Kushi-chan gave birth to little Naru-kun. He used the moment the Kit left the womb to pull me out. That Uchiha, like Madara before him, didn't hesitate to use his Sharingan to take me over. But even after the mind-control was broken, my animal instincts took over and I went berserk over the feedback from the severed link. Yes, I feel bad that I killed a man who I'd been friends with and a woman who I loved deeply; but I know enough to realize that Uchiha was the one responsible for it. If I find him, I'll definitely kill him slowly. But I won't chase after him; Naruto-kun has more of a claim to revenge than I do."

Anko nodded in understanding. She was no stranger to wanting revenge, when the person who wronged you got away with their crime. "I...yeah, if you put it that way, I understand. It seems we're plenty alike, my Goddess." She clapped her hands to her mouth, flushing darkly.

Kurama looked over at Anko amusedly. She chuckled. "So, I'm a Goddess? Tell me, Hebi-chan," her expression suddenly sharpened, "Do you feel hot whenever you get close to Naruto; do you get particularly horny for him, especially when he goes berserk?"

The purple-haired woman's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How'd you know about that?"

"Oh," Kurama shrugged, "I remember from Kushi-chan's memories that Orochimaru gave you a Curse Mark. He really screwed himself in doing that, along with Meilan and Shimura-chan, now. Quite ironic, really."

"But…"

Once more she was easily silenced by a finger to her lips, much to Anko's frustration. _Damn it, again!_

"Now now, I'll tell you later. For now, though, I'd rather have all concerned listening in. I must get Naruto-kun back to the matches."

Anko seethed quietly as she watched the Kyūbi open the door and lead Naruto away. _Yeah, we'll definitely talk. What the hell did she mean, 'he screwed himself?'_

…

[In the stands…]

Meilan and Kikyo watched as Sasuke battled it out with Choji. The Uchiha heir jumped to the side as the Akimichi boy steamrolled past with his Nikudan Sensha. "What'd I miss?" asked Naruto, startling them.

"Ino and Sakura tied in their fight," Kikyo reported, looking back at the arena, "If you could call it that. Honestly though, they were both pathetic. Sakura has gotten a bit stronger, and Ino put up a fight but...well, they ended up knocking each other out with one punch. Very anti-climactic. Right now Sasuke and Choji are fighting, and it looks like Choji's winning."

Naruto frowned calculatingly. He knew that Choji was tough, even without his clan jutsu, but there was something...off about that statement. He focused his ultrasonic hearing on the battle. "How long has it been since they started?"

This time Meilan answered, "A little over five minutes, why?"

The blond grinned at that. "I see...if that's the case, then it seems that Sasuke's the one who'll win."

…

[Sasuke vs. Choji]

Choji stared warily at his opponent, temporarily releasing his Baika no Jutsu to catch his breath. Likewise, Sasuke stopped moving as well, holding his katana at the ready. _If I keep this up, he's gonna tired out eventually,_ thought the Akimichi heir. However, the Uchiha only grinned deviously, suggesting he thought otherwise. "I guess I should thank you for that mistake, Choji," he said, Sharingan flared in his eyes, "It's a shame, but I can already see through your technique. Otherwise, you would've been a good opponent."

Choji was surprised. The Sasuke that he knew from the academy would indeed have said he'd made a mistake, but the other parts? What was this? He supposed that prolonged exposure to Naruto would have changed the boy (though they sometimes got a bit _too_ close for his comfort). But either way, there was no way he could have made a mistake; this match was his! "I don't know where I messed up, but I'll just have to make up for it by ending things here. Baika no Jutsu! Nikudan Sensha!"

Instantly, Choji's torso swelled into a sphere, then he tucked in his limbs and began to roll. The Choji-ball charged at Sasuke with the intention to flatten. The Uchiha in return made several hand seals quickly. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" He exhaled a barrage of small fireballs at the ground. As the attack had come at the last second, Choji rolled over them. Panicked at the sudden heat, the chubby boy dispelled his jutsu to put out the fires before expanding again. "I'm not like my sister," Sasuke explained solidly, "I don't usually fight dirty, but I will do it if I have to. And with your attack patterns, sticking my hands in the mud will be easiest way to end this fight."

Choji blinked at his opponent in surprise, before his confidence returned. "Well now that you've told me, I won't make that mistake again! Nikudan Sensha!"

Sasuke only grinned once more and made more hand seals. He breathed in deeply and yelled, "Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!" exhaling an enormous fireball. This time Choji had to slow down and roll to the side to avoid it. When the green and white Akimichi boulder charged in again, Sasuke leaped out of the way at the last second.

Choji smashed into the wall and, to his horror, got stuck. Instantly Sasuke let loose another Hōsenka, spraying Choji with fireballs until he finally deflated himself and yelled, "I SURRENDER!"

Immediately Hayate raised a hand. "Winner by forfeit: Uhiha Sasuke!" Sasuke obligingly stopped breathing fire and walked back to the stands. Behind him, Choji collapsed from both chakra and heat exhaustion. Waiting a moment for the medics to cart the boy away, the sickly Jōnin turned his attention to the spectators once more. "And now, *cough* it's time for our final battle of the preliminaries. Will Rock Lee and *hack* Sabaku no Gaia please enter the battlefield?"

…

[Lee vs. Gaia]

In a swirl of sand, Gaia appeared on the arena floor, her arms crossed and her face set in its usual apathetic scowl. Hayate could not look her in the eye—to him, she looked uncomfortably like him if he didn't get enough sleep.

Lee on the other hand set a foot on the railing to leap into the arena, but Gai put a hand on his shoulder. "Lee! Take care of yourself in there," he said seriously, "I don't know what it is, but that girl is giving me a bad feeling. She's very dangerous, so proceed with caution!"

The bowl-cut boy grinned and gave his mentor a thumbs-up confidently. "Yosh! I'll definitely make you proud, Gai-sensei!" With that, he jumped clear out of the stands, landing gracefully before taking a one-handed half-bow stance. Hayate could only stare in befuddlement at the close-up of the Genin. Gai insisted that the two of them weren't related, but _damn!_ It was almost creepy how much the boy resembled his old teammate. The two fighters stared tensely at each other as he raised his hand.

Hayate took a deep breath (trying desperately not to cough) and proclaimed, "Rock Lee vs. Gaia: Hajime!" Gaia popped the cork off her gourd, firing it at Lee, who caught it easily and charged. He threw a punch at her, only for his bandaged fist to hit a wall of sand that shot up to block it. Another punch got the same result, as did some kicks. Try as he might, the sand kept blocking his attacks with ease, as the redhead merely stared at him, bored.

…

[In the Stands…]

Naruto easily picked up the sound Lee's attacks as soon as the match had begun. With his ultrasonic hearing, he could even tell the punches from the kicks, both cushioned by sand, as well as the whisperings of small tendrils that tried to snag his limbs. Trying to shed some more light on the subject, the blond sent out a light chakra pulse; what he 'saw' interested him a great deal. Lee in particular fascinated him. It was not because of his weight, which was too much for his body type (and so his speed), nor that his chakra coils were stunted. Indeed, he could not even mold the amount of chakra necessary for even a Bunshin. As Naruto examined the weird boy's pathways, he noticed that while he had very little chakra, Lee had an overabundance of Nen! He calculated the reserved amount; they were such that if the boy had been trained in how to use it, he would've been an even match for Meilan by now.

Then there was Gaia…however, before he could continue that train of thought, his nose picked up the scent of desert sand, wood and…well, well. "If it isn't the cross-dressing woman-hater," he greeted mockingly without turning around, "What's wrong, you didn't get enough make-up from your sisters?"

"O-oi, shut up-!" Before Kankuro could finish, the blond blurred out and seized Kankuro by the neck, choking off his shout. Even with the Hitai-ate blindfold, the puppeteer could tell that Naruto was decidedly un-amused.

"No, _you_ shut up," he said testily, "Shouting without need irritates me. So either lower your volume if you've got something to say, or keep your trap closed. Got me?"

Kankuro gulped and new there was only one prudent answer here. "Y-yeah…"

"Good." Naruto released him and turned back to the fight.

Panting, the puppeteer took a place by the blond, watching the fight as well. "Pointless," he said.

"What is?"

"That weird guy's trying to get through Gaia's Suna no Tate," he explained, "It won't work; the sand automatically reacts to any attack that comes at Gaia from any direction. It's her Absolute Defense."

Naruto didn't look at Kankuro; no need to show his thoughts. But he frowned to himself, wondering why this guy was so casually talking about his sister's strengths.

…

[Lee vs. Gaia…]

Lee had been on the defensive for a while now. This was not good—he'd barely been able to get close before. Now the un-youthful redhead was having him dodge her sand, even as he tried to attack another angle. It was obvious that her chakra control was unnaturally high if she could manipulate this much sand without so much as a hand sign. He needed to get into a position where he could think of a way to counterattack…but at the rate things were going, he wouldn't have any time to think. No matter how much distance he put between himself and her, the Tanuki girl's sand seemed to have unlimited range. Dodging was not too good either, since the sand was faster… _Wait, that's it! If I am too slow now, then I must become even faster than this sand!_

Lee leaped over a particularly large blast of sand, landing on top of the hand sign statue. He looked meaningfully at Gai, his question shimmering in his oddly wide eyes. The older bowl-cut man responded with a thumbs-up and his signature gleaming smile. Without further ado, Lee pulled down his legwarmers, revealing a set of weights on each ankle, which he removed.

"Pfft, what difference will that make?" Temari scoffed, watching him hold them out to the sides, "A few pounds won't help against Gaia; her sand'll still grind his bones to dust…!" However, her mocking tone withered and died when the weights hit the ground.

*CRASH!* The ground shook as the two deceptively small objects smashed into them, kicking up dust and cratering the ground where they landed.

"A few pounds, you say?" asked Gai, chuckling admonishingly at the stunned blond, "You're mistaken if you'd think I'd stop at such a light amount!"

"YOSH!" cried Lee from atop the statue, "Now I can move about more freely!" With that he vanished with an ominous green blur.

Gaia's eyes widened an instant before something hit her sand. She wheeled around, but he'd already vanished, leaving her shield to fall back to the ground. Again and again her sand shot up to intercept a shot, but no matter how quickly she looked, Lee would already have moved on. Everyone else was equally stunned, watching as Lee moved at almost impossible speeds, literally running circles around the redhead, too fast to properly see, punching through the shield so fast it could barely react in time. In fact, as time went on, it seemed like attacks were slowly overcoming the sand. Finally, as the shield blocked one attack, Lee simultaneously punched at Gaia from the other side. The Tanuki-girl finally saw her opponent as his fist struck her hard in the cheek with a crack, knocking her clear out of the ring of her sand and off her feet. As Lee finally came to a stop, she bounced three times along the ground before sliding to a halt, her sand slithering along after her. Slowly, she stood back up, glaring, cracks spreading across her face where he'd hit her. Pieces broke off and turned to sand as they fell while she panted bestially. The grin she gave Lee did not inspire confidence in him at all.

He calmed himself, shaking off his momentary nervousness. Now he knew that the sand was equally powerful in both defense and offense, but he needed to get even faster to land a meaningful, decisive blow. Even as he dodged the next wave of attacks, more ferocious than before, he knew he had only one option left. There would definitely be a steep price to pay, but if it would bring him closer to becoming a Taijutsu Master…such a thing would be nothing!

[In the stands…]

Kankuro continued with the exposition. "Gaia's secondary defense, the Suna no Yoroi, is even greater than the Suna no Tate," he said, still watching the fight, "It covers her entire body with sand and compacts it, making it denser. The problem is that she can't move as well and it needs a lot of chakra to maintain."

Naruto's blind eyes narrowed behind the blindfold. This was starting to sound fishy; why was the puppeteer deliberately talking about the weaknesses of his siblings? It was like he wanted Naruto to defeat her. "Hmph," he grunted, "I guess I can add 'bad brother' to that list, along with 'wears girls' makeup' and 'misogynist.'"

The face-painted boy flushed with rage as the surrounding girls chuckled, but he quickly calmed down. This was the guy who could potentially take his sister down a peg; getting mad at him would be pointless and stupid. Before he could offer a witty (to his own mind) retort, a shout of "Omote Renge!" interrupted him. He watched silently as Naruto thoughtfully scanned the fighters, before becoming visibly shocked.

"No! That idiot," he hissed worriedly, "He shouldn't have done that. His body won't be able to hold out long enough to win!"

"But he must be desperate to go to such lengths," Meilan pointed out, having sensed the same thing as Naruto, "Don't worry, I'll heal him afterwards, if only to scold him for such recklessness."

…

[Lee vs. Gaia…]

As Lee opened his chakra gates, he felt new chakra surge through his body. He knew that this 'power-up' for his Taijutsu would come at a high cost. But as long as he could beat Gaia before it wore off, then it would be worth it!

Dropping the spinning body of the redhead, he let go just in time to avoid crashing into the ground with her, landing heavily and panting. His arms and legs ached from the extensive use, more than he'd ever felt before, and his heart pounded. He only hoped that the fight was finally over. Nope. Gaia's gourd had disintegrated, cushioning her fall. Finally, standing up, she spoke for the first time in the match. "You begin to annoy me," she said in a drone, her gourd reforming, "It's time to shut you up."

She sent a blast of sand at him, once more forcing him on the defensive. But Lee was beginning to tire; it was getting harder and harder to avoid the tendrils trying to snag his arms and legs. The pain that moving caused him was only adding to his exhaustion. He was beginning to lose hope that he would find an opening now. There was nothing for it; he had to use _that_ Jutsu. The attempt would probably kill him, but better to die trying than not! For only a moment, there was a pause in the attacks; Lee seized on it and crossed his arms. Reaching deep within himself, he reached his limit. "The Fifth Gate! Tomon: KAI!" His chakra exploded, even larger than before, forming a visible aura around him as his veins bulged. The power of the gate numbed the pain and exhaustion he'd felt up till now. The amount of endorphins produced by his body, plus the sheer blood pressure in his body, caused his skin to turn dark red and his eyes to turn white. "Ura Renge!" He vanished. No blur, no hint of movement, he just disappeared.

Gaia experienced a moment of shock, followed by a brief flicker of worry as her prey vanished from her sight. _Where did-?_ The next instant, a sandaled foot smashed into her chin. Lee moved so fast that he'd completely bypassed her Suna no Tate and kicked her into the air. Before she could get her bearings, he reappeared in front of her and struck again, sending her flying through the air, only to reappear behind her and punch her once more. Again and again he attacked, moving so fast he seemed to nearly be in several places enough, continuously striking Gaia from another side or angle. The Suna no Yoroi cracked severely in several places, and Gaia noticed that its recovery rate was slowing down drastically. Worst of all was that she didn't even have the luxury of falling; the force of each hit was keeping her airborne.

_Yosh! This is it!_ thought Lee, rebounding off a corner to punch Gaia once more in the face, _The point of no return!_ As time seemed to slow down, he looked at Neji, who was absolutely gob-smacked at what he was seeing. _I hope you can follow this, Neji...this jutsu was meant for you!_ He hit the ground, leaped off the ceiling, and drew back to kick Gaia in the abdomen. _Naruto-kun...if I survive after this, I wish to see which is better: your blades or my fists!_

Finally, Lee appeared from the front, positioned for an overhead smash. He punched her hard in the abdomen, sending the Tanuki-girl crashing to the ground and causing concrete chips dust to go flying. When he landed next to the crater formed, he staggered and fell to his knee; he was severely weakened. "Please…" he murmured, "Let that be enough." Two tendrils of sand lashed out, catching his arm and leg before he could dodge. "AAAAH!" He screamed as two loud crunches erupted from his limbs. The sand tossed him aside easily, then pounced once more. _This…this is it…_ he thought dimly, closing his eyes, _I'm going to die…_

Suddenly the wave stopped and scattered. Gai had intervened, landing in front of his student and blowing the sand away. "That's enough!" he shouted, "You've already defeated him. I won't let you go any further!"

Gaia twitched as the older one stood against her, a strange pain in her heart. What was this feeling? _No matter,_ she thought bitterly. She motioned for her sand to advance on both of them, only for a foot to press down on her throat. She blinked, then looked straight up from where she lay. The blood-red eyes, snow-white hair and red skin frightened her, more than she even thought was possible. She could not even move, couldn't direct her sand to crush this woman who was apparently threatening her.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," she growled, her ruby eyes piercing into Gaia's sleep-deprived ones and even deeper, "You're the reason this girl has turned into such a psychopath, aren't you? What, you thought you could prove me wrong just with that? Call her off, or your fat ass won't be safe from what I'll do to her. And don't think the Curse can save you; I can kill you both faster than you can use it!"

As she continued to stare up from the ground, Gaia could hear her 'mother' screaming for her to obey this Amazon. It was her terror, however, that kept her frozen. Slowly, her sand crept back toward her, like a dog with its tail between its legs. Hayate sighed silently. "Winner by knockout: Gaia!" he called. Instantly Gai went and put his student on a stretcher to be carted off. The redhead simply watched, tentatively standing up when Kurama released her. "This concludes the preliminaries of the Third Exam! *cough* Will all the winners please come down?"

They all came, with the exception of Gaia. As they gathered in front of the sickly proctor, a Shinobi Shunshin'd into the ring, carrying a box. "Alright, so what- *cough cough* what I want is for all of you to each take a card from here. Each has a number on *hack!* on it! For those of you who are blind (all one of you), it's written in braille, as well as k- *cough* -kanji. Once all of you have picked one, call out the number."

The man with the box walked past the competitors, holding the box out to each one. Each read their numbers, while Naruto ran his thumb over the braille inscription. Finally, they announced them.

"One!" called out Naruto.

"Six!" said Meilan.

Len frowned at his. "Eleven."

"Four…" started Sasuke.

"And Eight!" finished Tsukiko.

"Hmph, Nine." Neji said simply.

"Five!" said Kikyo.

"Twelve." rasped Gaia.

"Three!" added Temari.

"Ten." called François.

"Seven…" mumbled Shino.

"Two!" finished Kankuro.

"Good," said Hayate, with a slight smile, "Now pay attention to your number, because they will determine who your opponent will be." As if on cue, the screen began running through numbers, then stopping on two. "The first match of the Semi-finals will be Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyūga Neji!" Before anyone could respond, the board started up again. Naruto frowned angrily. Neji would definitely pay for what he did for Hinata. Neji, on the other hand, smirked. He would prove that nobody, not even himself, was above Fate.

"Second match: Temari vs. Baihe Meilan!" Meilan cracked her knuckles and Temari stretched her neck.

"Third match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uchiha Tsukiko!" The Uchiha twins looked to each other with apprehension, before it was replaced with competitiveness—they now had the chance to see each others' progress.

"The Fourth match: Len Ferro vs. François!" The two elves made a silent bet with each other—a bet that Len dreaded losing, given his colleague's obsession with the latest in fashion. However, a glint in his steely eyes hinted that if he did lose, it would not be an easy victory for her.

"Fifth match: Aburame Shino vs. Kankuro!" Shino gave no outward reaction, but those who knew him well enough could feel his excitement. Kankuro on the other hand was already looking ahead to his next fight…and dreading it.

"Sixth, and final, match of the Semi-finals: Shimura Kikyo vs. Gaia." Though her expression remained unchanged, Gaia's eyes gleamed at the thought of more bloodshed. Kikyo made a mental note to stock up on LOTS of ammo and explosives.

"The semi-finals, and the finals will be held a month from now," continued Hayate, "Use this time to train and re-*cough* remember how to fight your enemies, because there is without a doubt that you are all weakened at this point, and they know how you fight. You are also given a month *cough, cough*, because Daimyō from all over are coming to Konoha as we speak, and it will take that long for them to get there. They will be judging you as to whether you are fit to be a Chūnin or not! Use this time well."

With that, Hayate disappeared in a Shunshin and all the competitors left the tower. As they walked, Naruto knew he would have to train harder. Neji was good, but he needed to be even better. But first, he had some apologies to make…

…

_**A/N: Well now, this looks interesting; the polls for whether or not Tsunade should be added is becoming a rather close vote…I won't say which decision is getting voted the most (you should be able to see it), but I will say that Tsunade being in the harem will not be confirmed until the Tanzaku City arc. So whomever wins out by then will get to celebrate…probably with a red wine and steak party (or whatever you like to eat that is luxurious, but I find red wine and steak to be a rather good combo).**_

…

_**Dungeon Fighter Class Introduction:**_

_**Brawler—this is a Fighter subclass known to fight dirty, and so their attacks are known to have a tendency to cause the bleeding and poison status effects. Female Brawlers are heavier on poisoning and bleeding the opponent, while the male brawlers have more directly offensive skills. All Brawlers favor using claw-type weapons (especially since Claw Mastery allows a chance to cause bleeding), and are best played using Heavy Armor; they are also the only class that mounts their enemies to pretty much punch them in the face.**_

…

_**Character Class Confirmation:**_

_**Nī Yugito—Brawler/Elemental Bomber (fire specialist)**_

…

_**Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:**_

_**Flying C4 (modified)**_

…

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Danger" from "Mark of the Ninja"—Kikyo vs. Yugito in a field of plastic explosives**_

"_**Bad Situation" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Lee vs. Gaia**_

"_**Righteous Blade" by Masaharu Iwata from "Soul Calibur IV"—Kurama threatens Gaia**_


	28. Medical Drama

**_A/N: Sorry this took a while…distractions such as games and school have been eating up my time. Several authors have also caught my interest with their stories. In any case, I ask that you read and review would you kindly?_**

…

{Play: "Code Blue" by Shoji Meguro from "Trauma Center: 2nd Opinion"}

[Konoha General Hospital…]

With the hustle and bustle of doctors and nurses running around, it was business as usual at the Konoha General Hospital. However, because of the Chūnin exams taking place, it was up to the medical staff to treat the survivors. Among the staff, though, there was one in particular-one who was something of an outcast from the others. He wore the standard scrubs and face mask of the other doctors, but was distinguished by a white spot of hair against black. The corner of skin by his left eye was also darker than the rest of his face. In fact, despite being forty, he might have been mistaken for a patchwork doll.

He was tired. He'd just finished going through several _very_ tiring surgical operations, since the 'honorable director' was too squeamish to do it. There were a few relatively easy ones, though; Inuzuka Tsume's would-be rapist of a son, for instance. Sure, the wounds were actually quite grievous and the trauma inflicted was relatively light, in the doctor's opinion, he had it coming. He'd heard what the boy had done; it was no surprise that the wounds he'd suffered were from his own stupidity. At least the treatment was easy enough; all that was needed was some replaced blood, a broken jaw wired shut, bandaged ribs, and sutures for the various lacerations and gouges. So as far as his body, he was well on his way to recovery, but the trauma from a berserk Naruto (again, through no one's fault but his own) would probably remain for a while to come. Well, that was out of his hands now.

The next patient, however, was much more serious. Hyūga Hinata, a sweet young girl with the potential to become a fine woman in later life. Perhaps she might even become a great healer, like his nurse and teacher, with her kind, gentle nature. She also happened to share his views on her clan's elders: they were far too arrogant and refused to change, a trait that he saw in her cousin Neji. Surely the boy hadn't been _that_ fatalistic in his youth, had he? Perhaps the brat wouldn't have turned out the way he had if Hiashi had just told him the truth about _that night._ In any case, Hinata's treatment had been much more difficult; he was not a miracle worker like his hero Tsunade. He couldn't do too much to help her without chakra, but he did manage to repair her heart, while his Branch Hyūga nurse unsealed her tenketsu.

His last (and current) patient was Rock Lee, and frankly, the diagnosis was the worst of the bunch. His chakra pathways (which were stunted even naturally) were practically shredded from stress and his right arm and leg were both badly broken. Nurse Hyūga Hinako was kept busy repairing the pathways, while the doctor himself had to take a scalpel to the boy's leg. Fortunately, the bowl-cut boy was anesthetized, so there was no danger of him lashing out. Not only could the outcast not afford to take a hit, from the condition of Lee's fibula and tibia it looked like even a kick would be disastrous for any attempt at healing. It was unlikely that his radius and ulna had fared any better either. Still, no use complaining about the work. He took the tube of bone-setting polymer and began piecing together the fragments of tibia. Shockingly enough, he was able to work at nearly equal speed to his Hyūga companion, even managing to put the pieces exactly where they belonged. It was for this very reason that this man was legendary for his skill level.

"Sponge!" he called, the orderly immediately wiping sweat from his brow as he set the last piece. "Now, I need another tube of the polymer ready."

"Hazama-sensei, his chakra pathways have been repaired, but he needs rest as soon as you're done with his bones."

"Understood. In the meantime, you've done enough, Hinako-san," said the stitched man, starting on the fibula even as he spoke, "Get another doctor in here if you can. On second thought, no. Those assholes will probably screw up on purpose, like with the Inuzuka-brat."

As she left the operating room, Hinako glanced back at the surgeon, who was already starting on Lee's fibula. One of the biggest names in Konoha medical practice was Hazama Kurō, the 'Black Doctor' of Konoha General. He was equally well known for being a 'demon-lover,' but unfortunately (for those who thought so, at least), he was also the best doctor/surgeon in the hospital. In fact, only Senju Tsunade of the Sannin was better than him, and that was only because she could use chakra. He was a veteran of the Third Great Shinobi War, using his brains to survive and protect his clients. His kill count was decidedly unimpressive, but he didn't care; as long as the patients lived, so be it. However, as with all skilled people, there were whispers behind his back. The others wondered why he defended the 'demon-brat,' even going so far as to become 'its' personal doctor, when the Yondaime had been killed by it. It was equally well known that Namikaze Minato had been a close friend of Hazama-sensei's, so the fact that he would actively help the 'killer' of said friend was a source of confusion, and not a little anger. Hinako was not one of them, however, seeing the boy as a younger brother.

"Get me the disinfectant and suture!" Hazama-sensei ordered, setting the last bone in Lee's leg. He disinfected the wound, then sutured it with a needle, before applying healing cream. "Two more tubes of bone-setting polymer, a few retractors and another scalpel. Kiriya!" he barked to another doctor without looking, "How are we on Ketamine?" As he asked, he started working on Lee's forearm.

"Still good," the anesthesiologist answered dutifully, "You're making good time. No, more than good, it's phenomenal how accurate you've been in such a short time."

Hazama smirked under his mask as he pieced the ulna together. "Work hard, find enough inspiration and anyone could do this. Keep the drip going steady; I'm fast, but I don't want this boy punching anything, least of all us, anytime soon."

"Yes sir!"

…

{Play: "Hinata vs. Neji" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"}

[Meanwhile, Will of Fire Buddhist Temple…]

Monastic chanting filled the grounds of the temple halfway towards the hospital. Rumor had it that Senju Hashirama himself had built this temple using his Mokuton Kekkei Genkai. The reason was to try and bring some spirituality to the village, and also because a group of monks had asked for a place to meditate. It was known simply as the Will of Fire Buddhist Temple. Every inch of the place was made from solid white oak, which had been grown directly into a temple from acorns. In a flare of artistic spontaneity, the Shodaime had also used his Mokuton to grow a Buddha statue in the middle.

Standing outside the Buddha's compound were six people, only one of which was a boy. Uchiha Satsuki (disguised as Sasuke), Tsukiko and Mikoto, Baihe Meilan, Shimura Kikyo, Uzuki Yūgao and Kurama all stood around Uzumaki Naruto. They were all confused by his desire to meet with the other Five Elements.

However, before anyone could question him on his motivations, the blond got down on his knees, bowing. "I'm sorry," he said simply, surprising the girls, "I promised myself that I would protect everyone who was precious to me and I failed. If you want to punish me, go ahead. Next time, I will try harder to protect you all."

But Satsuki shook her head, an unreadable expression on her face. "There's no reason to apologize," she said.

"We knew the risks when we became ninja. We are responsible for ourselves," Tsukiko agreed, moving with Satsuki to pick him up by the shoulders.

"And where do you get off taking all the blame?" asked Meilan, a defiant flame in her eyes, "Orochimaru only gave us these marks because _we_ failed, not you. We wouldn't have the right to blame you even if we wanted to."

Kikyo added her own two cents. "I don't like agreeing with balloon-girl, but she's right." She smiled warmly at Naruto. "We're not in a position to blame or forgive you. If you want to take responsibility for our condition, then let us take our share."

Naruto was touched. Even after his failure to protect his loved ones, they did not blame him. All the same, he swore to himself that he would do better. No other person he cared for would ever be hurt like this again.

"If we're done here, I have a story of my own, now," Kurama suddenly spoke up, "But first, I'd like for Mitarashi-chan to come out now. I promised to explain some things to her about the Curse Mark."

Obligingly, Anko crawled out of a nearby shrub. Standing up and brushing herself off, she said without preamble, "You told me that my wayward sensei screwed himself over with the Mark. Why shouldn't I investigate you? You also seem to know why I'm getting these..._feelings_ from it."

Kurama's face did not lose its amused expression. In fact, she chuckled briefly, her grin widening as she answered the Tokubetsu Jōnin. "No worries, no worries at all. I guarantee you won't be disappointed; at least if you're all ready for this. To start this exposition, Anko-chan, let me ask you something: what do you know about the Curse of Kazan?"

Anko wracked her brains about said 'curse,' looking bemused. "...Just a few stories here an' there. Some of the more disturbing ones I heard when I travelled with Orochimaru- now that was back when I was his apprentice, mind you. The stories talked about a terrible plague that swept the world before the Rikudō Sennin appeared. The victims were all tortured by the plague into violent, murderous frenzies. The stories also mentioned that they were forced to wear chakra-limiting chains on their arms so that they could try and be normal...judging by the fact that I saw Naruto-kun try to kill Orochimaru until he got his second set of chains, I'm guessing they're more than stories."

"Indeed they aren't. So let's start there," Kurama agreed, watching her audience, "...Alright. So, as you may or may not know, most victims of the Curse ended up becoming swordsmen- and swordswomen -of great renown, all looking for a way to cure themselves. However, not all of them looked for a cure. There was one group so corrupted by their curse that they saw the demon Kazan, my father, as a god. They called themselves the Children of Kazan, but all they were was a cult of Slayers who willingly spilled blood in the name of Kazan. At first, they were just a nuisance, but by the time the Rikudō Sennin came around and sealed my father into himself, they grew into a legitimate threat."

"No offense or anything, but are you going to get to the point anytime soon?" asked Kikyo a little impatiently.

If Kurama was annoyed at the interruption, she didn't show it. Well, apart from the 'shut up' look she shot at the moss-haired girl, she continued. "The main point of the cult was to sacrifice any and all enemies' blood to their God, Kazan. However they weren't above taking slaves to increase their numbers. Those poor souls were all given a mark, which would kill anyone too weak to bear it; anyone who survived was granted a watered-down version of the full Curse of Kazan. I guess it wouldn't be inaccurate to call it a 'False Curse.'"

"The mark would compel the 'false' cursed person to obey anyone with a 'true' curse. Now, here's where Orochimaru comes in: The False Curse of Kazan- also known as the Slave Curse -is the exact same thing as his Jūin no Jutsu."

As Kurama paused in her narrative, Meilan chose to speak up. "Is that what's causing the...increased attraction we've been feeling for Naruto?" she asked concernedly. She squeezed his hand, though, to show that she didn't mean any offense towards him, "What I had with him naturally was high enough already, but since I got the Curse Mark, those feelings have increased; even more so when he goes berserk. Is that part of the curse?"

A look of sorrow, maybe bitterness, crossed Kurama's eyes. "Yes. Unfortunately, the Children of Kazan considered slaves and breeding stock to be basically the same thing. The enhanced feelings you've all been having are indeed a part of it, but they only surface in the presence of a Cursed person of the opposite sex. However, aside from the whole connotation of slavery, you don't have too much to worry about. Also, the cult died out entirely, though it's possible that there are a few descendants of those slaves at present. For the Curse Mark to still exist there can be no other explanation."

The three females with the Mark took a while to let that sink in, each with their own lines of thought. Anko felt confused initially. She wondered if her feelings for Naruto were in fact genuine, or if it was because of the Curse Mark. However, then she smiled inwardly as she realized the irony of her former sensei's actions; yes, he was creating slaves, but they were not enslaved to _him._

Meilan wondered to herself about her feelings themselves. Did she still love Naruto because of her own, sincere emotions, or was it the slavery part that was making her love him?

Kikyo, on the other hand, had no real thoughts or opinion on the matter. To her mind, whether enslaved or free, her feelings for Naruto would not change a bit. She glanced at Meilan and saw a determined look on her face, with an underlying current of 'I won't lose.' _Well, tough luck, balloon-girl. I'll be the one to become Naruto-kun's wife, whether you or the Snake woman like it or not!_

Now it was Sasuke/Satsuki's turn to ask a question. "Kurama-san, if that mark is for making people into slaves, then why do we have arms like Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah," agreed Tsukiko, "Orochimaru didn't mark us any differently from Meilan and Kikyo. So why are we...infected?"

To their surprise, it was Mikoto who spoke up. "I'll answer that. According to Uchiha law, no one under Chūnin is supposed to know about the curse. However, seeing as the number of living Uchiha can literally be counted on one hand, there's no real point in keeping it a secret." She took a breath and began.

"As you are no doubt aware, the Uchiha clan is descended directly from the Rikudō Sennin. It is said that he took the Curse of Kazan into himself in order to stop the Jūbi. Because of that, the Curse is no longer a plague, as it was in the past. All victims at the time were cured by this sealing, but now the Curse is carried down his bloodline and into ours. Of course, the same applies with the Senju and Uzumaki clans, since they too are his descendents. And since the Curse resides in our bloodline already, the Curse Mark does not turn us into slaves. Instead, it awakens the dormant full Curse or, if they already have it, compounds its effects."

Sasuke looked confounded. "So...we were always in danger of gaining the Curse," she said. After a moment, she asked, "So where do we go from here?"

"The same place as before," Tsukiko answered resolutely, shaking her 'brother' out of her hesitance, "After all, we still have to worry about these exams. Of course, we should train separately; we don't want each other to know the other's moves when we fight a month from now."

Mikoto smiled at the twins, her heart swelling with pride. She was extremely relieved that the two had chosen to support each other. In her eyes, they were no longer girls; each had already become a fine woman in their own right, but of course both Satsuki and Tsukiko were truly one person together.

"I need to stock up on ammo," Kikyo said, turning away without saying goodbye, "I'll need all the training and gear I can get against Gaia."

Before she could leave, however, Yūgao put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll accompany you. I'm no archer, but I can certainly show you a trick or two with that tanto. You never know when you'll run out of ammunition, or if your enemy will close the distance."

"Well, we're going to the hospital first," said Meilan, "I need to heal Lee up so I can scold him afterward; might as well tie up that loose end first."

"I'll accompany you," Kurama said archly, falling into step with both Meilan and Naruto, "Naruto will need some...specialized training, later."

With nothing else to be said between them, they split up. All had preparations that needed to be made, and a month to do it.

…

{Play: "Echigoya's Estate" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven"}

[At Kaze no Sasayaki Izakaya]

From the Kaze no Sasakyaki Izakaya drifted the soft sound (not really) of jovial music. Not the horrid noise played by the demon-brat, though his girlfriend was certainly welcome to sing. Hell, the amount of revenue that fat moron Chōza raked in definitely made it worth it. _Yup...no demons allowed._ It was a policy in the Izakaya, which Tojo Nagi was all too happy to enforce. Never mind the fact that some of the employees were starting to lose their hatred. _Fools, the bunch of them!_ Nagi thought darkly as he cleaned glasses behind the bar, _Have they forgotten what that little monster did years ago?!_

The bitter barman's internal. bitching was cut short as the doors swung shut behind a woman. A lithe, cream-haired woman the likes of which Nagi had never seen before. Her reddish bronze skin might serve to confuse her with a native of Kaminari no Kuni, if not for her lazy cyan eyes and pointed ears. She wore black leather clothes that hugged her hourglass figure perfectly and carried a short sword with a red-lacquered sheath. Despite her relaxed demeanor, he knew that she was not one to be trifled with.

She walked up to the counter, setting her sword down and sitting in front of him. "You got something strong here?" she drawled, yawning. Nagi took the opportunity to glance at her generous bust as she did so.

"...Yeah, the 'Hellfire's' the best I got."

"Hellfire it is, then."

Nagi ducked down to gather the ingredients as the dark-skinned woman started listening to the gossip. "Hey Rito, you hear about the Chūnin Exams?"

"Yeah, what about 'em?"

"I heard the demon-brat got into the semi-finals!"

"What? Bullshit! That useless murderer got that far? Then again, he _is_ a demon, and he did pass with that shit education at the academy. Damn it, the Hokage should've let us finish the job five years ago, and now he's too strong!"

"What about those other rumors? Some of the mob members are starting to leave him alone..."

"Feh! Who cares about them? If they wanna let the demon kill them, that's their problem. Who's he fighting, anyway?"

"That Hyūga kid who was last year's Rookie of the Year. I think his name's Neji."

At that moment, Nagi placed a shot in front of the woman. "Here you are, one Hellfire sake. So, Miss, you got a name?"

"It's Minet."

"Minet, huh? So, what brings you here?"

She took a swig instead of answering. Her expression didn't change at all from the alcohol, which was sort of insulting, but Nagi didn't really care right now. "My team is taking those Exams. I wanted to know if they passed or not. Sounds like this Naruto character is a bit of a persona non grata 'round here. Anyone care for an explanation?"

The general mood took a darker turn as many patrons seethed with silent hatred. "It's because of that demon brat that a lot of our people are dead," Nagi spat, "I'm sure you heard about the attack twelve years ago, right? The Kyuubi no Yoko slew a great number of our Shinobi in its rampage, until the Yondaime Hokage sacrificed himself to seal it away a newborn. That, Minet-san, is why everyone hates that...child."

The others raised their voices in assent, but Minet, who looked unaffected, took another shot. "That bad a demon, huh?" she muttered, clearly uninterested in what the idiots had to say. "Here's a question for you: if you seal a kunai into a scroll, does that mean the scroll is now a kunai?"

"Don't be stupid!" shouted a random person, "Of course not! It's just a scroll with a kunai sealed in it!"

"So what makes Naruto different?" she asked. The patrons found themselves unable to answer her question. They looked at each other, silently discussing it, trying to come up with a solution. Before they could try and disprove it, however, the Izakaya's doors opened and three more pointy-eared people walked in."

"There you are, sensei!" called a purple-skinned girl, "We looked for ages for you!"

"Ah, speak of the devils," said Minet by way of a greeting, "Want a Hellfire? Bit of a step down from Siusha's stuff, but passable."

"Ooh." Len's eyes lit up and he sat next to her, "I'll 'ave some 'o dat."

Nagi ducked out of sight, mostly so they wouldn't see his indignant look, while the woman continued, "So, you made it to the semi-finals?"

"Len and I did," answered François, "'Kasia got beaten by one of the Uchiha twins, though."

"Ah. Too bad for you, Princess. Anything else I should know?"

It was Ayakasia's turn to speak. "White Knight threatens Black Queen."

Minet's ears twitched and the laziness in her eyes turned into something much darker and more serious. She knew what that phrase meant. "I'm taking one of your booths," she told the barkeep, "Take our orders there."

The dangerous edge to her voice told Nagi that it wasn't up for discussion, nor was it a request. He was no Shinobi, but he'd seen enough glares like hers to know that the booth had better be private. Private with a capital 'any eavesdropping and heads will roll.'

Minet stood up and led her team to a secluded room near the back, normally reserved for weddings (not likely here) or black market deals (much more likely).

{Play: "Great Buddha Temple" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven"}

The second the door closed, Minet got straight to the point. "Report."

They took turns giving their retelling, of what they suspected was Orochimaru's doing, the encounter with a berserk Uzumaki Naruto (much to Len's pain), and Higurashi Tenten owing them a favor. Then, for the preliminaries, they talked about Yakushi Kabuto's suspicious withdrawal, as well as the Uchiha twins' curses activating. Len also mentioned how his own opponent had somehow managed to siphon Grimdark energy off of him, though he hastened to add that he'd killed the unfortunate man. Minet, however, told him that would have to be put on the backburner for now; Grimdark Arts were obscure and strange enough that similar incidents weren't likely. For now, though, she was bothered by the other parts. Not the fact that she had to potentially deal with Berserkers again (some of her friends had become able to control the Berserker blood-rage), no. What agitated her was that she might one day have to kill a boy that, after meeting him a few times, she had in fact come to like. "Well...this has gone straight up Shit Creek, hasn't it?" she sighed, "But I guess that's not too surprising." She glanced into a corner. "Vira, what's the queen's response?"

Out of the shadows emerged another elf. She was almost as tall as François, with copper-toned skin and long silver hair done up in a ponytail. Her eyes were heterochromic, one midnight blue, the other amethyst. For clothing she wore a bikini top over her modest bust, a buckled sarong about her waist and a wakizashi over the small of her back. "Her Majesty will still come for the semi-finals," said Vira, looking a little irritated, "She is already aware of the most likely things that Snake-face will pull. So, she wants a large number of NLIA agents recalled from their posts to supplement the Royal Guard."

Minet smiled slyly. This...was definitely not good. "Okay, then," she said sweetly, "In that case, I guess I've got to get going. Do take care of the children, would you kindly, Vira?"

"Oi! Who're you calling children? And don't think I didn't spot that reference!"

"Shut it, Ferro/Len," muttered François and Ayakasia respectively.

"Oh no you don't!" squawked the spy indignantly, "This is _your_ team, _you're_ the one who has to-"

However, her rant suddenly choked off with a squeak at the sight of Minet's grim smile. The grim aura that rose up behind her brokered no compromise; either she quit while she was ahead (figuratively speaking), or suffer a horrible fate that might arguably be worse than a straight-up beatdown. "Tell me, Vira, do you have some of Siusha's whiskey?" she asked innocently.

Vira, of course, did not buy it for a second, but shakily said, "Er, yeah, I-I did." She rummaged through her knapsack quickly before producing a square bottle. She handed it to her superior officer, the clear, golden-brown liquid within sloshing around.

"Thank you," Minet said graciously, "I'll need it later. Remind me to get you a new one when we get back to New Lorien too."

At the back of her mind, Vira couldn't help but point out that that time might be quite a ways away. "R-right...what are you going to do?"

Minet merely grinned, showing just how much good she was up to. Namely, none. "With the bottle? Nothing much, that's just for after. First, though, I need to teach an idiot a permanent lesson."

Len's eyes widened and he ducked behind both his teammates. His sensei, of course, ignored him and turned to the door.

Vira watched as Minet sauntered out of the private room and towards the bar. _Good grief,_ she thought, seeing the flirtatious look on her face. The spy could tell, even at this distance, whether or not her superior was being serious or not. In fact, Minet herself had been the one to teach Vira how to effectively use seduction techniques as weapons (only when necessary, of course). She'd heard the conversation with the bartender earlier, however, so she made no move to stop her. The idiot had brought it on himself, breaking the Hokage's law and all.

"Excuse me, Bartender," said Minet, the seduction in her voice turned up to the max, "I wanted to give you something..."

Nagi could only stare, wide-eyed, drawn in immediately by her cyan pools and tempting smile like a moth to a flame. Minet struck out, grabbing him by the collar, and pulled him close. Without preamble she French-kissed him, shoving her tongue into his mouth for about fifty seconds, before pulling away. "That was for the drink," she said simply, while Nagi could only gape at her. Then her eyes glinted darkly as she whispered in his ear, "And what comes next you brought upon yourself."

She swaggered out the door with her whiskey bottle. The bartender stared after her, nonplussed. But before he could say anything, he felt a burning in his throat. He collapsed to the floor, struggling to breathe as his limbs flailed uselessly. The customers could only watch, horrified, as the owner's skin turned an unhealthy red, before paling. Within seconds, Tojo Nagi stopped twitching, blood leaking from every orifice and pooling on the floor. Meanwhile, Minet was already far from the building, washing the foul taste out with Vira's whiskey.

…

{Play: "Hope Hospital" by Shoji Meguro from "Trauma Center: 2nd Opinion"}

[Konoha General Hospital, thirty minutes later…]

Hazama-sensei lay down on the couch, resting and catching his breath—it had been quite a tedious day. He'd accompanied the stretcher carrying the sleeping Rock Lee to his room. After that, he'd had to treat a lot of patients, some of them rather low in priority, in addition to three more critical, long time patients of his. He was used to it, of course; in fact he saw it as a challenge, along with the subtle (and outright blatant) attempts by the hospital to bury him under more work. He wished that he could just stay awake, just to see their outraged looks. So many 'acclaimed' doctors in the hospital, and not one of them could even treat a triage patient...

"Hazama-sensei!" called a loud voice, jolting the scarred doctor awake. Kurō looked around, sitting up haphazardly, to see Uzumaki Naruto and his girlfriend, accompanied by a red-skinned woman in a white shirt and tight shorts.

"Ah, Naruto-kun," he said, yawning hugely, "Nice to see you again after so long. And not injured, to boot! So what brings you here?"

"We're here to visit Rock Lee," said the Baihe girl, "In fact, do you have any other triage patients? What I'm going to do might help them too..." she trailed off as Naruto put a red, chained hand over her mouth. She looked at him and saw an urgent look on his face.

"We need to move now!" he said quickly, running off.

Meilan wasn't sure what had prompted such a reaction from her boyfriend, but it was sure to be serious. She and Kurama ran up the stairs after him. Kurō blinked after them, bewildered. Then he shrugged and lay back down on the couch, trying to sleep some more.

…

{Play: "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda}

[Konoha General Hospital, Rock Lee's Room, five minutes later…]

In Rock Lee's room, everything was silent, apart from the EKG's beeping. The boy himself was still anesthetized, which was a good thing, since he needed a lot of rest. It would take a long while to recover from the beating he'd received earlier, but at least he'd be able to keep his livelyhood...eventually. However, right now his unconscious state was a very large disadvantage, because Sabaku no Gaia was standing over him. She glared ominously down at him, popping the cork off her gourd.

She was confused; an emotion that she did not like. Why did the scrawny boy bring her such agitation and pain? Why was she remembering that time of betrayal? Eager to be rid of such thoughts, Gaia knew she need only dispose of the boy. With only a thought, a torrent of sand erupted from the neck of the gourd, drifting as a shroud around her body. However, even as she gestured to move her sand, a surge of Killing Intent made her pause. She looked up to see Uzumaki Naruto charge into the room, skidding to a stop on one foot and hurling a tetsubo at her like a javelin. Her eyes widened as her sand sped in front of her instantly, hardening into rock as it did so. The iron club smashed into the shield full on, pulverizing stone and continuing on, only to stop an inch from her face.

For a moment, Gaia felt relief at surviving. Then the Baihe charged in with a shoulder tackle, shattering the shield in an instant as a golden aura flared off her body. Without stopping, Meilan switched from the tackle to a backhand jab, then grabbed her by the arm. Gaia was lifted completely off her feet and slammed into the wall, breaking her Suna no Yoroi. She slumped to the floor, showing a hole in the wall in the exact shape of her body. The worst part was that the Suna-nin had felt the impact of both attacks. If not for the toughness of her Suna no Yoroi, her body probably would've exploded by now. Perhaps the stories of the Baihe clan's strength were not as exaggerated as she'd thought _...this girl's pure blood shall make a good offering to mother._

"And just what do you think you're doing?" asked Naruto venomously, moving in to pick up his club.

Gaia stood up, her face deadpan as she glared coldly at the two. "Exactly what it looks like. I'm going to kill him."

"What did he do to deserve dying?" Meilan shot back, her aura dissipating. She still looked pretty angry, though.

"Nothing; it's just that killing him will prove that I exist."

"There are other ways to do that," replied Naruto, "But not this way. That won't prove a damn thing."

Gaia glared at him. "What would you know about it? About proving your existence? You know nothing about the life I've had. I contain the Ichibi no Tanuki."

Rather than respond in fear as she expected, the Uzumaki boy frowned furiously. "Am I supposed to back off from that? You think I don't know what that's like? Guess again, I know _exactly_ what it's like; I'm a Jinchuuriki too! Or, I was, at least. Let me guess, there were assassination attempts, right? Old news, I've had those too. I might not be a Jinchuuriki anymore, but I've still got my problems. Ask your Bijū about my clan, or about the curse running through their bloodline."

Gaia's face paled in utter shock. _He's a Jinchūriki too?! But then…why isn't he like me? Why does he not wish to kill everyone?_ Then she realized he kept referring to his condition in the past tense. "Which Bijuu do you…_did_ you hold?" she asked.

"That'd be me," said a voice behind her. Gaia turned her head to see the red-skinned woman who'd singlehandedly nearly ended her. She felt a stab of fear at how quietly she'd snuck up on her. "You already know that Shukaku fears me, but that psycho bitch doesn't seem to have told you who I am. So, I guess an introduction is in order: I am Kurama, the Kyūbi no Yoko."

And suddenly her mother's fear made sense. But then, if the Kyūbi had left his body, then how was the boy still alive…? Even as realization, and then confusion, dawned on Gaia's face, Naruto began to speak again. "So yeah, I know exactly what you've gone through. You think killing everyone else will prove your existence? That's all well and good, but what happens when _everyone_ is dead? No one will be around to remember you then. So here's a promise, just between the two of us; one month from now, no matter how many rounds it takes, you and I will fight. When that time comes, I will show you what it really means to live."

Gaia blinked at the proposal, trying to process it. Prove her wrong? Him? _We'll see about that._ She smirked predatorily at the prospect of fighting an Uzumaki; she remembered his display in the preliminaries, and knew his blood would please mother greatly. She walked up to him, still grinning madly. "I accept," she said harshly, "After what I've seen already, I hope you won't disappoint me, Uzumaki Naruto."

Her sand gathered around her and whipped itself into a storm. For a second, she was obscured, then vanished entirely, taking the whirlwind with her. For a second, there was silence. Then Meilan turned to her lover and asked, "Do you really think you're ready for her?"

"I will be," Naruto answered with certainty, "Now, what were you planning to do here again?"

"Ah!" she said, remembering, "I'll need Lee, Hinata and…Kiba put together in the same room, at least for a little bit. Since they're the most critical patients here, I'm going to heal them."

"Under most circumstances, I'd be skeptical," said a voice from the doorway. Naruto cursed in surprise as he realized that Hazama-sensei had snuck up on them. "I've heard about the Baihe clan's healing ability, but thought I'd never get to see it. I will have the patients gathered for you; an opportunity to see such legendary skills is too great to pass up!"

…

[Konoha General Hospital, Operational Amphitheater, ten minutes later]

Kurama had left them at the door, citing that she needed to see someone. Meilan read through the clinical charts, having learned what such things meant in her childhood. Hinata's injuries would, perhaps, be the easiest to heal, since aside from damage to her tenketsu points it was just internal damage, but Lee and Kiba both had bone fractures, albeit adequately repaired already. "Put the patients around me in a triangle, please; equidistant," she instructed the nurses, "The procedure will greatly reduce the required time for them to make a full recovery. Once you're done, you're welcome to stay, but that's up to you of course."

The nurses decided to leave, however, after positioning the three patients to Meilan's specifications. As the door shut behind them, the Baihe let out a sigh to clear her nerves. _Right. You can do this, Meilan. You've done it before; this is not any different!_ The only difference here, of course, was that Hazama-sensei and a number of other doctors were watching, but Meilan shut them out, closing her eyes. She imagined it as if it were a recital for a song, her focus drawing out every bit of energy she could muster. In her silent prayer, a golden aura flared out around her. With a wordless bark of exertion, her eyes snapped open and her arms shot out in both directions. A flash of light illuminated the room as a perfect dome of peach-colored energy formed around her, engulfing Naruto and the three patients in its benevolent glow.

The doctors in the observation room could only look on in fascination. What was that aura supposed to be doing? Kurō, on the other hand, was watching those within the dome, rather than the thing itself. Before his eyes, all the occupants' wounds began healing; from Meilan's scratches from the Forest of Death to the surgical scars on the patients. _Is this the level of healing power the Baihe possess? To be able to heal multiple people at once with energy alone? I see...I still have much to learn._

Finally, the aura faded away as Meilan turned her attention to the doctors above. "Their wounds are all completely healed, both internal and external, though broken bones and damaged Tenketsu will still need time to finish. As I said before, their recovery has been greatly accelerated; Hyūga Hinata will be the first to recover fully and will be fit to leave the hospital by at least a week. Oh yes, and I'd like to be notified once Rock Lee's anesthesia has worn off. I still owe him a scolding."

Not even waiting for a response, she led Naruto out of the room by the hand. Meanwhile, the doctors remained where they were, stunned into slack-jawed silence by what they'd witnessed.

…

[Tenten's Room…]

Tenten blearily opened her eyes, only to groan when she saw an unfamiliarly white ceiling. She quickly recognized that she was in a hospital, then tried to remember how she'd gotten there. She'd been fighting that blonde girl from Suna, and none of her weapons had been hitting their mark. One swing of that fan had stopped them dead in the air, a second had turned them around, and then...a third swing, followed by breathlessness and darkness.

"Well, you're looking better, at least," said a girl's voice, "I'm sure Naruto-kun will be happy once he gets here."

She sat up shakily to see the red-skinned woman from before sitting by her bed. The one who'd claimed to be an 'Alpha Female.' She was sitting cross-legged in a chair next to her, stirring what looked like hospital food in her lap. Using the spork, she took a piece of cake and popped it in her mouth, moaning almost orgasmically at the taste and disturbing Tenten more than a little. Had this woman not eaten cake before? "Oh sorry, it's just that food this good is hard to come by, you see," she said, smiling slightly. "Now then, I suppose you have some questions, don't you? And would one of those questions happen to be about my Alpha authority in Naruto-kun's pack?"

Tenten's eyes widened, then narrowed. Could this woman read minds? "I thought I was supposed to be asking the questions here," she said drily.

The 'Alpha Female' only gave her a 'don't be stupid' look. "And I'm supposed to be answering them, aren't I? Oh, and I'm not reading your mind; I just saw your expression when I announced myself at the Prelims. If you were in a real pack, by the way, you would probably be mauled for that attitude."

_Well then, I guess I should be grateful that I'm a _human,_ and therefore _not_ in a pack._ It was with a great effort that Tenten kept that particular thought to herself, though she made no move to hide it from her expression. Instead, she only asked, "Who are you?"

The red-skinned woman merely chuckled. "Before I answer your question- and yes, I _am_ going to answer -I've got one more for you," her face became slightly more serious, "What's holding you back from telling Naruto-kun the truth?"

Tenten flinched, looking confounded. "Truth? W-w-what are you talking about?" she stammered nervously.

Her opponent's eyes narrowed. "It was back when he was seven, so I won't fault him for remembering a scent from then," she began, continuing to spear and eat her cake without pause, "But I remember. I realized almost right away that your scent was very similar to that man who cut off Naruto-kun's arm and almost killed him. Since his scent was more similar to your father's, I'd say he was your uncle."

Tenten's eyes widened as she finally realized who the woman was. The shock quickly turned to a hateful glare as the woman finished her cake. "You're the one who gave Naruto-kun the Curse of Kazan!" she accused.

The white-haired woman set the dish and spork aside and looked at her with defiance, completely unfazed by the venom in her voice. "If I hadn't, he would have died," she said simply, "Your uncle saw to that."

A look of shame flickered across Tenten's face, then was gone. "You're Kazan, aren't you?"

She regretted that almost immediately as the woman's expression, which had up until this point been slightly mirthful, filled with hatred. "No, I'm not, and I'll thank you never to call me by the name of that jack-off father of mine," she spat, "In fact, don't bring up my relation to him again, you hear? Now...again, why have you not told Naruto-kun?"

Okay then, another landmine to side-step. Tenten's nerve almost left her as she thought about what she had to say- because she would say it. She had to admit her feelings, if not to Naruto, then to this person. "I...I'm afraid," she said haltingly, "I'm afraid that, if I tell him, I'll lose him forever. I've tried every bit of reasoning I could to get rid of the guilt, but it wouldn't go away. No matter how I spin it, the fact remains; my uncle cut off Naruto-kun's arm and tried to kill him! And now that he's back, I...I don't ever want to lose him. I'll even share him with other girls if I have to!"

The woman only remained silent throughout the confession. As she finished, she smiled proudly. "You won't lose him," she said softly, "Naruto-kun is not a cruel person. You should definitely confess to him as soon as you can. He will not blame you for something that is not your fault, especially after all this time."

Tenten raised her eyebrow. "How can you know that? You'd have to have been close to him for a long time to know such a thing, but I'd remember seeing you around the village."

"Hmm~, but I _have_ been close to him," said the red-skinned lady teasingly, giving a half-smile, "Haven't you heard of the Kyūbi no Yoko?"

The bun-haired girl blinked, thrown by the seeming change in subject. "J...just that it attacked thirteen years ago and that the Yondaime Hokage killed it."

The smile turned up a bit more at the corners. "Only the first part is true, and even that's missing some crucial details. There's no real way to kill a Bijū; they can only be sealed away inside a vessel. Minato didn't want to seal the most powerful one into his own son, but he had to do it."

The dots began connecting in Tenten's mind. _I don't get it. What sort of connection would the Kyūbi no Yoko have with...with...Naruto..._ And suddenly she understood. Naruto was always being called a demon by passersbys in the village (they thought they were being quiet enough to not be heard). His birthday was on the same day as the Kyūbi festival, and he looked nearly identical to the Yondaime Hokage himself. Tenten looked up at the woman, the blood draining from her faced as she realized that she was in the room with the Kyūbi no Yoko. "What do you want from me?" she asked.

The demoness only gave a small chuckle. "Oh, not much. I just want you to tell my future mate, Naruto-kun, the truth; simple as that."

"And what do you gain? What good does telling him the truth do you?"

She leaned forward and propped her arm on a knee, placing her head in her hand and grinning. It seemed that she found skepticism highly amusing. "It's not for _my_ benefit, but yours. You already know I intend to make Naruto my mate down the road, but of course I'm willing to share him with other girls. Obviously, those girls would have to acknowledge me as the alpha female of the pack, and they would have to sincerely love him for himself. Since the latter is definitely true of you, it would be best to tell him the truth soon, or you might come to regret it forever after."

Tenten's mind was awhirl with thoughts. She knew she had to tell Naruto the truth, of course. But she also knew (or at least felt) that having some regret was much, much better than completely severing her relationship with him. Before she could retort with this thought, however, the door opened and Naruto entered with Meilan leading him by the hand. "Ah, Kurama!" Naruto greeted, "I thought I smelled you here. I never would've guessed that Tenten-chan was the one you wanted to see."

The woman, now identified as Kurama, shrugged. "I thought she could use a talking to. After all, a person with a weak will can become weak themselves from a defeat."

Suddenly, Tenten realized that this was her chance. At this point, did she really have that much to lose? "Naruto-kun...can I talk to you in private?"

Meilan, of course, was surprised but Kurama got up, smiling knowingly, and said, "We'll leave you to it, then. Meilan needs to go train at the temple anyway. _Don't you,_ Meilan?"

It took Meilan a second to realize what Kurama wanted from her. "Oh, yes of course," she replied quickly, "I need to meditate some more. I'll...leave you two alone now. And Naruto-kun?" The blond glanced at her in curiosity. "Don't get _too_ close now. I'm still looking forward to getting your first kiss."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing as the two shut the door, leaving him and Tenten to themselves. Once their footsteps had faded away, Tenten let out a breath of apprehension. This was the only time she could finally tell Naruto the truth. "This is...something I've always wanted to tell you, but I just...I wasn't ready," she said as he gave her his attention, "But thanks to Kurama-san, I think I can do it now."

Again, Naruto remained silent, but indicated that he was listening with his hand. "I...My dad told me this when it happened, and I didn't really believe it at first, but when I saw you I realized it was true. The man who cut off your arm was my uncle, Manten." Although it didn't darken, Naruto's expression suddenly became unreadable. "I know it's no excuse for what he did and not telling you, but I'm sorry for what happened five years ago. I-I'd like to make it up to you, if you'd give me a chance. Please, just...don't leave me. I already lost you once and I really, _really_ want to be with you. I don't want to lose you again because of what that animal did."

There was silence for a moment in the room as Naruto sat there. "What he did was...unforgivable, trying to kill someone who didn't even know what he'd done wrong," he said darkly, standing up and worrying Tenten, "He's already gotten what he deserves- after all, Kurama possessed my body and killed him. As for not telling me until today, though...well, there's only one thing I can honestly say about that..."

Tenten looked down and closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from forming. Kurama was wrong; Naruto really was vengeful. She listened to his footsteps as they...drew closer? What? She flinched in surprise as a hand suddenly stroked her brown hair. "...I don't really care about that," Naruto admitted easily, the darkness gone from his voice. Tenten's eyes flew open as he continued, "To tell the truth, it was probably for the better that he cut off my arm. If it weren't for that, I doubt GSD-sensei would have bothered taking me under his wing." His hand slid down her head to stroke her cheek. "I wouldn't have learned how to gain the strength to protect the people I love- a people that includes you, by the way. In fact, without him, I probably wouldn't have even realized that I had people who loved me for me," he squeezed her hand, "Whom I needed to protect. So don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault anyway, alright. And I want you to be genuine with your feelings from now on. I can always tell when you're being insincere with your smile and laughter; it breaks my heart when the people I love are only forcing themselves to be happy."

She didn't know what to say. All that worrying, and Naruto never even held it against her for what her uncle had done? It was unbelievable, to say the least. So lost in thought was she that she failed to register the embrace he gave her, plus the words he whispered in her ear. Then, just as she was recovering from her shock, Naruto turned to leave with a joyful smile on his face. She tried to call him back, to tell him she'd not heard him, but the words stuck in her throat. But that didn't matter. All that mattered now was that she still had a chance with him now; a chance to advance from a dear friend to a loved one in his heart. True, Kurama was still the 'alpha of the pack' (whatever that meant), but then, she always enjoyed a challenge...

…

{Play: "Harumonia" by Rhythem from "Naruto"}

[Somewhere outside the hospital]

"Ha~...it's nice to see that they've made up, finally," sighed Meilan, lowering her binoculars, "I could always tell that Tenten-san got pretty depressed whenever Naruto-kun was around. Well, at least now I know why. Still, are you sure you should've intervened?"

Kurama, who sat next to her on the branch, only shrugged. "I don't claim to be ultimate expert in romance, but sometimes one of them _does_ need a bit of a push. If I hadn't done it, Tenten would never have worked up the courage to confess to Naru-kun. What about you, though? Are you really alright sharing him with other girls?"

"I...I might not be entirely happy with it, but I accepted it a long time ago; Naruto's heart is just too big to keep to myself. Besides, I'm already sharing him with you, as well as any girl who meets my...I mean, the standards we agreed on. As long as his heart still has room for me, I will be fine."

The red-skinned Amazon pulled the younger girl into a loving embrace. "He will, don't you worry. Naruto's heart will always have plenty of space for you. Now...don't you have some meditation to do?"

"Ah." Meilan lightly hit her palm with a fist, remembering. "Yeah, right. I need to train hard for the finals. I hope the meditation will help against that girl with the big fan. I'll have to pull out all the stops with her."

"I'll tell Naru-kun that you're going to train on your own this time," said Kurama, "If the Chūnin Exams make as much sense as they should, then you won't be allowed to watch the combatants train." She paused. "Mind you, they'll probably still send spies to observe or hinder him, no matter what the rules are." At the meaningful, worried look on Meilan's face, she quickly continued, "Don't worry about that, though. I'll be training him myself, this time around. Even if that Hyūga asshole _does_ learn what Naruto's training in, he won't stand a chance."

Suddenly, she looked up over the edge of the binoculars as something else caught her interest. "Hm...looks like that closet pervert Ebisu is trying to teach Naruto water-walking. Doing pretty well, too. Wait, what's...? Oh ho! Revenge is at hand!"

"Eh?" was all Meilan could say, confused. Whatever it was, she knew that whenever Kurama wanted revenge (whatever it was for)

The confounded look in Meilan's eyes had spoke volumes of what she was thinking, but what she did in fact know was that whenever Kurama sought revenge, there was no escape. "Make sure you send Naruto-kun my love will you?"

A mischievous grin and a salute was Kurama's response. "Will do, now hurry along. I've a toad that needs to be punished." Without another word, the Amazon leaped off the edge of the tower and performed what appeared to be a shunshin in midair.

…

{Play: "Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda}

[Konoha Onsen…]

Ebisu watched, slightly nonplussed, as Uzumaki Naruto followed his water-walking instructions like a fish to...well, water. It hadn't been easy, convincing the boy to follow him to the baths, he'd acquiesced after the promise of training for the Chūnin Exam Finals. Naruto's attitude towards learning reminded the Tokubetsu Jōnin of a certain other warrior. In this case, the respected (yet infamous all the same) Rōnin from Mizu no Kuni: Miyamoto Musashi, from before even Mifune's time. Merely thinking the name was enough to send shivers running up Ebisu's spine; even after the man's death via illness many years before, many shinobi feared to even speak his name. With the number of ninjas he'd reportedly killed single-handedly, it wasn't _that_ unjustified.

To get back to the subject, though, to be honest Ebisu was just as...wary towards Naruto as many of the villagers. Or at least, at first. He saw the boy as nothing more than a rabid dog that had to be put down. But then, one day he saw the Honorable Grandson practicing with a shinai on a bamboo dummy. Despite himself, the Tokubetsu Jōnin found himself intrigued by the boy's determined face as he practiced his 'men' strike. Tentatively, he asked Konohamaru if he wanted to learn a faster way to become a Shinobi. "Don't lie to me; there is no shortcut to become a ninja," the boy had said without looking, shocking Ebisu, "Naruto told me that to be a great Shinobi, let alone Hokage, I'd have to work hard and do whatever it takes with me team. When the day finally comes and we fight for the hat, I want to beat him with my own strength...and at his own game. I'm gonna be an even better swordsman than him!"

It was a bit off-putting that Ebisu's own promises weren't what was motivating the boy. Although, he did notice that since meeting Naruto, Konohamaru _had_ become much less spoiled. He now saw massive potential in the blond...especially after said boy cut clean through a patch of bamboo _with a bamboo pole._ That particular event might or might not have contributed to Ebisu deciding that Naruto was not, in fact, wasting his time.

"Oi, Ebisu-san! Don't you have anything harder to do?"

Ebisu could only smirk to himself. _Hokage? Ha! He could get to Sannin-level at the rate he's going, and _I'll_ be the one to get him there!_ "You want a challenge? Fine, how about this: you will spar against me while water-walking. No weapons or jutsu, just Taijutsu."

Naruto gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Mm, sure. Although, when you say no weapons," he flexed his fingers, emphasizing his sharp nails, "Do you also mean these?" Ebisu gulped quietly at the question. The talons would definitely be a problem against him. Although, seeing as the Inuzuka also had claws, they could technically be called a part of his Taijutsu.

Suddenly, the blond paused and glanced away. "Hm. Looks like we've got a visitor," he said irritably, "Who's enjoying himself over there."

The Jōnin looked around and immediately saw what Naruto was talking about. A man with long, spiky white hair was crouched in front of the fence, apparently looking through a hole to the women's side of the bath. Instantly Ebisu was filled with anger and indignation. _Hey! He's hogging all the space!_ He charged the old lecher, intent to punish. "You there! What do you think you're-"

There was a blast of smoke, which obscured the old man. Even as it started to clear, the sunglasses-wearing man started to slow down. "Y-you're...!" he gasped. However, something long slammed into his stomach, then hit him with an uppercut. Needless to say, he got knocked the fuck out.

"...Ah, shaddup. You're bothering me," grumbled the man. As the smokescreen cleared, he was revealed to be wearing a red vest over a green-gray shozoku and red geta. He had red marks trailing down from his eyes and was sitting on top of...a large, orange and black toad. "Geez, such a wimp...a Jōnin and he gets passes out from that? What's this world coming to?"

"Apparently it's coming to a world where people like you hang around fences," snarked Naruto, walking across the water towards him, "In other words, a world where perverts like you can just peep at women all you like."

"I don't like your tone, brat. I'll have you know that _I_ am one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Jiraiya!" the old man retorted, "And I'm no pervert!"

The blond looked impressed, despite himself. "Oh? Well then, I apologize. Since you just knocked out my current teacher, how about you take over and train me?"

Jiraiya only snorted and turned his head away. "Oh, so _now_ you change your tune? Sorry brat, this Super Pervert wants nothing to do with it."

Naruto deadpanned for a second before grinning deviously and putting his hands together in a seal. *Poof* A puff of smoke briefly obscured the boy.

{Play: "Sexiness" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"}

When it cleared, however, the one standing there was a blind, pig-tailed blonde _girl._ A girl who also happened to be naked; one arm covered her large breasts, while her other hand covered the junction of her legs. Though Jiraiya would normally swear this was not the case, he was definitely turned on by the sight. "Mou~!" she cried in frustration, "I-I definitely didn't want to do this for you! B-but now that you've s-seen me like this, you'd better take responsibility, you hear?!"

The white-haired man's jaw dropped at such sexy a tsundere attitude. Before he could even begin forming a reply another woman, one with red skin, appeared behind the girl and wrapped her arms around her. One hand tilted her head to expose her neck, while the other trailed sensual fingers into her cleavage. "Such a shame...if you don't help me train Naruto-kun, you'll be missing out on all this."

For emphasis, she licked Naruko's shoulder, running her tongue up to her neck and kissing it, while her hand massaged the blonde's bare breast. The Sannin's nose nearly exploded with blood from the eroticism of the scene before him. "Holy shit..." he muttered, his jaw dropping lower by the second, "This is...this is...!" He grinned widely and gave both females a double thumbs-up. "Perfect! Kid, you've got yourself a teacher!"

"Excellent," said the red woman seductively, suddenly gaining a mischievous grin, "And now that I have your attention, I have something else to say to you." She sauntered over to him, her swaying, bikini-clad body drawing his eyes like a magnet. As she got close, she placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face closer slowly.

Jiraiya's excitement ratcheted up a few notches as her lips approached his. A kiss already? _Damn I'm good!_ However, it was not to be. Her shin suddenly shot up and nailed him in the crotch, causing him to double over so his head hit her shoulder.

If not for the amount of agony he was currently experiencing, Jiraiya would have been majorly turned on by the whispering voice in his ear. "That was for spying on Kushi-chan on her wedding night, baka-Sennin!"

Even as he registered the words, Jiraiya felt himself lifted off the ground and spun around in the air. The woman then somersault-kicked him in the balls again, launching him over the fence into the women's side of the onsen. The small part of his brain not dominated by pain finally realized the identity of the red-skinned woman as he hit the water. However, even as he surfaced, the Gama Sennin saw he wasn't safe yet; all of the women in the baths stood around him, smiling evilly. Some of them, worryingly enough, brandished two-by-fours with nails.

_How the hell did they get those in here, anyway?_ he thought absently.

…

**_A/N: Whomever can tell who Dr. Hazama is based on will be rewarded with a vintage bottle of Siusha's secret whiskey…if I can find it. It shouldn't be too hard, considering the basic description of him. On a side note, if Gaara ever did get a voice-over for being gender-bent in the English dub, I guess Lani Minella would be a good actress for her (she already did well as Ivy Valentine and the female Krogan named Eve)._**

…

**_Character Class Confirmation:_**

**_Vira: Brawler/Rogue_**

…

**_Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:_**

**_Ultimate Nen Guard: A Nen Master technique that creates a shield that heals party members within it. Damage done to the shield will be converted into health used to heal allies._**

…

**_Vocabulary/Culture Notes:_**

**_-sensei—contrary to what people think, the honorific –sensei in Japanese does not always mean 'teacher', as depending on the context, it can also mean 'doctor'._**

**_Fibia and tibia—your shin bones_**

**_Radius and ulna—your forearm bones_**

**_Kaze no Sasayaki—this is Japanese for whispering wind_**

**_Izakaya—in olden days the name referred to a saké shop that allowed customers to drink on the premises; nowadays, it has become a establishment no different from a bar or a pub._**


	29. OMAKE: School Life

**_A/N: As you people are aware, I have taken down chapters 29 and 30…I apologize for that, but they will both be fixed by the time I am able to get the actual chapter up for beta-work. This is a 'what if' chapter that will describe an idea I have blossoming in my head. You may consider it an experimental chapter, but this will be a one-shot either way…do read and review would you kindly? And to those of you who have already reviewed, you may review again via PM if you like._**

…

{Play: "Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda}

[Hokage Private School…]

The sound of the bell signaled the end of classes in Hokage Private School, as the students geared up for club activities. Ever since the passing of Headmaster Sarutobi more than a year ago, the student body had been working hard in and out of the clubs to make sure the private school retained its reputation for martial arts champions and university-worthy graduates. They owed the old man at least that much, considering how much he cared for student welfare and always made sure to push students to their full potential with highly efficient teachers—a tradition that Senju Tsunade had thankfully taken up during her reign as headmaster.

Many students were hurrying to their respective clubs, but a wide berth was given to the student walking around with a bogu carried over his shoulder and his white cane sweeping the ground in front of him. He wore a pair of sunglasses that obscured his smoky blue eyes, but everyone knew who he was from the sun-kissed hair on his head, the whisker-marks on his face, and the reddened hands being the most telling sign of his identity. Another reason Hokage Private School was well-known in all of Japan was that it was one of the few schools in the world that accepted Kazan tribesmen from the reservations as part of the student body—especially given the racism they tend to experience all over the world, and Uzumaki Naruto has had his share of it being thrown in his face whenever he was out of the reservation.

It was a bit pricey to be sure, but his mother had saved up enough money to put him through this school prior to her death when he was six—leaving young Naruto in the custody of her sister figure Kurama. The older woman did her best to be the mother that Naruto needed, and ultimately succeeded, with the assistance of her friend and chemistry teacher Mitarashi Anko (whose class he'd just left).

After taking another step, Naruto felt someone swing a foot around his ankle, causing him to fall forward, while dropping his bogu and his blind cane to the ground. 'Oh great, bullies!' he thought to himself, knowing exactly what kind of situation he was in, 'I wonder, are they the racist bullies, or are they the kind that like to pick on handicapped people?'

{Play: "Thin Red Line" by Daisuke Ishiwatari}

"Well, well, well, if it ain't the blind, tribal boy?" mocked one of the bullies, the leader if the confidence in his voice was to be believed, "What's the matter, wishing you didn't get involved in our business now?"

Aha! Now he knew that voice! And he knew exactly what this was about! "So the Karate Team rejects have come to pay me a visit," said Naruto, trying to feel around for his cane, "I'm sorry about what happened the other day, but I'm pretty sure that when a lady says 'no', she means it. It's not my fault you dumbasses are too stupid to take a hint."

"Shut your goddamn mouth demon-boy!" shouted the leader, as he managed to land a kick on Naruto's stomach, "You should've minded your own business! All I wanted was to ask the nice Hyūga girl out, when you came and worked your voodoo on us…hell, I'm pretty sure you used voodoo on that girl too!"

"Boss, I hear that blind Kazan people are supposed to be really special in the tribes," said one of the lackeys, "you really think it's a good idea to be messing with one?"

"Oh give it a rest! There's nothing special about a blind boy…much less a blind boy who sticks his nose into other people's business! If anything, this'll teach him his place; him and those fucking red-armed freaks!"

From then on, it was nothing but kicks and stomping from the bully leader while the majority of his henchmen cheered him on, some of whom were also joining in on the kicking and stomping. It hurt so much, but Naruto was patient…currently, he had to deal with the leader and three of his lackeys who seemed to enjoy kicking the dog as it were, and three of whom were content to watch and cheer on. The odds were against him, but all he needed was one moment, and then he'll be able to make sure this dipshit and his posse of idiots won't mess with anyone again—especially if he managed to get word out to Bāchan as to what he said. Unfortunately, his revenge was not to be, as he heard someone tap the bully leader on the shoulder before sending a really heavy right cross up and into his face.

{Play: "Babel Noise" by Daisuke Ishiwatari}

"Nuòfū, you think picking on a weak boy makes you strong? You make me sick!"

Now there was a voice that Naruto knew of. Granted, he knew that it was amplified by a microphone at the time, but the heavy Chinese accent in its mellifluous tones identified the voice's owner to be the new Chinese transfer student from Shanghai. What was her name again? "Shut up you foreign slut!" shouted the bully leader, nursing his cheek, "You don't belong in this…"

He never did finish his sentence, as he soon took a shin to his balls, his forehead driven into her knee, then being thrown into a locker; the next goon to attack tried to charge and land an overhead punch only to be tripped, and stomped on his chest the second he landed on his back; Bully number three attempted a jump-kick only to be grabbed by his leg, slammed into the floor, and his balls punched; the last bully was in a stance, but was too terrified to move, causing the transfer student to walk slowly towards him, only to intercept a jab to her face, send a right jab up and into his chin, before sending very heavy punches into his chest and letting him crumple to the floor in pain. "You spoiled brats don't belong in this world," she growled, turning to address the rest of the bullies, "I see bullying this boy again, I'll take you all to Shanghai…and when your souls are ashes, **_then_** you have my permission to die. Now take your asshole friends to nurse's office, before I change my mind!"

{Play: "Himura Kenshin Theme (Gut Guitar Version)" by Noriyuki Asakura}

They didn't need to be told twice—despite the broken Japanese she was speaking, the transfer student made it clear of her intentions. The bullies grabbed their unconscious comrades, and started dragging them away…this Chinese bitch was crazy as hell! Once they were out of eyesight, the transfer student then turned her attention back to Naruto. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, after being helped up, "I'm pretty sure I could've handled that asshole on my own, but you have my thanks anyway."

"Bùyòng xiè," she said, after dusting him off, "I hate bullies, they're useless people."

A stifled laugh was heard from Naruto as he bent over to shoulder his bogu bags, and pick up his blind cane. "You're not the only one…er, I'm sorry, I never did remember your na…"

"Meilan, Baihe Meilan."

Baihe? Didn't that family have ties to the Shanghainese triads? Then again, Konoha Private School did have a tendency to take foreign students from all kinds of backgrounds. Come to think of it, he did in fact have two friends that transferred from China: Rock Lee was a boy from Hong Kong that idolized the late Bruce Lee to the point that he would take Wing Chun lessons personally from Maito Gai (whose family also came from Hong Kong on his mother's side); and Lü Tian-Tian (who also answered to Tenten) was a native of Fúshān, Guangzhou, whose mastery over the Chinese spear in her Tai Chi technique and competitive nature made Naruto wonder if she was related to the infamous warlord, Lü Bu.

"Well, thanks for the help, I've got to get going now…hope to see you soon."

Before he could take another step, Naruto felt an arm entwined with his. "I think it's best I follow you," began Meilan, "you never know when another incident like this will happen."

On that, Naruto could agree—and on the plus side, he also got someone to talk to on the way to the iaido club. After all, the saying was…what was it again? Oh yeah! "In travelling, one wants companionship; in life, compassion." And as he walked down the halls with the Shanghainese transfer student, he could not help but to think that this would turn out to be a beautiful relationship in the future. Come to think of it, maybe Danzo-sensei would be a bit understanding if he were _a little_ late.

…

**_A/N: This may be the first Omake I'll do, but hopefully this'll tide people over for a bit._**

**_..._**

**_Vocabulary/Culture notes:_**

**_Bogu-this is the standard bag used in any Japanese martial art...particularly one for Kendo, or in Naruto's case, for Iaido._**

**_Iaido-the art of drawing the sword, cutting the target, cleaning off the blood, and resheathing the blade in one fluid motion._**

**_Fúshān-a very famous place in Guangzhou, China...lots of Martial Artists made their name here, Yip Man and Wong Fei Hong being well-known in these parts._**

**_Lü Bu-a warlord and general from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was known for his arrogance, for being the best warrior of his time (he was once cornered by Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu, and he still kicked their asses), and for the love of his wife Diao Chan. He is often depicted as a spear-master, although Dynasty Warriors gives him a halberd for a weapon._**


	30. Omake: Naruto the Sword God

**_A/N: One of you have asked in a PM why I started Naruto off as an Asura instead of some other class like a Blade Master (my favorite Slayer Class for more options in weapons), which made me ask myself, 'what if I chose to start Naruto off as a class not an Asura?' which in turn prompted me to do a one-shot. And since this was started over the Blade Master, I'll start with the Blade Master…do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

[Play: "Cruise Liner Stern Stage -Europe-" by Hideyuki Fukasawa]

[Underground Fighting Arena, somewhere in Tanzaku City…]

Tanzaku City was a place well known for the fact that it was the gambling capital of the world, which comprised life on the surface. Unknown to rest of the Elemental Nations, was that this place also hosted underground fighting arenas where people fought in illegal matches. Some fought for fame, others fought for the prize money, but all fought and spilled blood on the sands—a tradition that should have died out long ago, and had been illegalized for millennia. Alas, while the long arm of the law ruled the day, the underground ruled the night, and so it came to pass that underground fighting arenas that fought to the death survived.

As the current spectacle went on, the crowd was cheering as a man with a pair of battle axes fought with a young girl wearing a brown and orange hoodie and boxing gloves, and had a golden aura over her hands that danced around his clumsy swings with little effort. With every swing of his axe, the girl wove effortlessly and grinning at him—rubbing salt in his wounds due to the fact that she was not even breaking a sweat. The second she got close enough, the girl sidestepped a downward swing before kicking the man in his shin and following through with a heavy straight punch to his face, plastering a stupid look on his face as he slipped into unconsciousness. This elicited more cheers from the crowd as they saw how effortlessly the axeman was beaten.

The grin on the girl's face made it obvious that she was relishing in her victory. "Ladies and Gentlemen," barked the referee into the microphone, lifting the girl's hand, "with seven consecutive wins today, Baihe Meilan!" At that, the crowd cheered the girl's name. "But wait? What do we have here? It looks like we have another challenger!" Now the girl named Meilan had her hand dropped gently and stood at the ready for her next opponent.

"An interesting match we're about to have here folks," continued the referee, after he gained silence from the audience, "we have a mysterious swordsman coming up to bat today! Our Rōnin friend is here to slice and dice his opponents to bits, and his skills will leave you wondering 'what the hell just happened? How did I lose?'! On the challenger's side, we have the almighty swordsman, Blade Fox!"

The crowd looked down upon the fighter known as Blade Fox. He was a boy around Meilan's age who wore nothing over his ripped abs except a red, sleeveless haori that had a tail going down to his thighs. He also wore a pair of black hakama that hid a pair of geta-wearing feet. He wore an ornately-made katana on his left side, and the heavy shackles he wore on his whitened left arm gave him an exotic appearance while also serving as a sort of buckler for defense. The boy's identity was obscured by the kitsune mask he wore, but she could see that he had a darkening tan complexion and slightly chiseled features for his age, and golden hair that bordered on cream-colored.

With every step he took, he seemed to leave an after-image of himself. That was definitely not normal, and Meilan knew it—she also knew it was not normal for her to be ogling at a boy at a time like this! "Oi, ossan!" called out the boy to the referee, "I just have to beat her in order to win the prize money right?"

"That's right my boy," said the referee, shaking off the scandalized look on his face, "Sixty-five thousand ryo is all yours if you manage to beat our top contender!"

At that, the boy widened his grin. "Well then, let's see if I need to get serious or not."

The first thing that he did was to reach his hand out to the side; the second he did that, chakra seemed to trace through the air into the wireframe of what appeared to be a six-foot-long quarterstaff with a lacquered shaft, steel end caps, and three steel hoops that divided the rod into four equal sections. As she saw this, Meilan shook off her momentary amazement and chuckled lightly. "Are you compensating for something? Because I was under the impression you were a swordsman."

"Don't get me wrong, I really am a swordsman, I'm just testing the waters a bit," said the boy, with a cocky grin on his face as he had the quarterstaff in a ready position fitting for a staff, "I only hope you prove that the stick will be enough. I'd hate to cut up something as pretty as your face."

Meilan blushed slightly before she shifted her stance, and readied herself to strike. "By the time this match is over, you'll wish you took me seriously!"

The referee raised his hand. "Fighters, at the ready…" The tension built up as he then glanced at each fighter. "FIGHT!"

It started off as quick as lightning! Meilan and the pole-wielding boy charged each other, with the boy starting the fight with a swift thrust of his weapon, and Meilan ducking under it. Blade Fox then dodged an uppercut by hopping backward just in time to counter with a swing of his pole, successfully hitting the girl in the shin and tripping her up before Meilan managed to recover with a back-flip so that she could watch him twirling his weapon skillfully. "You're good," he said, lowering the tip of his staff, "but let's see how good you really are!"

…

[Up in the stands…]

As the two fighters continued their battle, with Blade Fox forcing his opponent to dance as he quickly and rapidly drove the staff downward, trying to crush her instep and handicap her, before bending backwards under a sweeping jump kick and taking advantage of the moment to make a low and heavy swing at her ankles. Her response was to flip over the staff to attempt an aerial axe kick—to which her opponent countered by holding his staff upwards to catch the kick, obviously feeling the transfer of energy moving from the staff, to his hands, and shooting rather quickly to the soles of his feet. It was painful, and hard to keep this up, but he was able to keep this to a standstill as he pushed back; his opponent did not want to risk losing her balance after all, and so the two of them continued the subtle match of tug-of-war, trying to outwit each other.

In the meantime, a shinobi team led by a man with a bowl cut sat on the bleachers watching the fight. One of them was a regal, raven-haired boy with the white eyes of the Hyūga clan, glaring down at the spectacle with the utmost in contempt; another was a scrawny boy with a bowl-cut and big, round eyes that looked on at the match excitedly; and the only girl in the team had a contemplative look on her face as she observed the match. "Sugoi! Their flames of youth are burning very brightly in this match!" cried out a big-eyed shinobi, "What I wouldn't give to be down there now!"

"Now, now, Lee; if you joined in, it'd be a spot on your record—we're technically breaking the law as it is coming down here, and the only reason I'm doing this is to show you what it's like in underground fighting arenas," said a man with a matching bowl-cut to the boy, eliciting a sigh of depression from the latter, "but if you're that interested in fighting a worthy opponent, I've already signed all of you up for the Chūnin Exams coming up."

At this, the boy named Lee had perked up at this information; oh he would be looking forward to this day! Once he was satisfied with the boy's reaction, the team leader turned to his only female student, who had not taken that contemplative look off her face. "A mon for your thoughts Tenten?"

"I honestly don't know, Gai-sensei," began the girl named Tenten, not taking her eyes off the fight once, "but something about that masked fighter bothers me…his staff in particular. It's probably just me, but for a moment, I thought I saw something being formed inside the shaft—made me think of another weapon I know of."

Now this really bothered Gai…Tenten knew her weapons very well—in fact, the girl was practically a weapons otaku! Which was no surprise, given that he taught her how to use every single weapon she stored away in her scroll. Before he could say a word however, everyone turned their attention back to the match at hand upon hearing laughter.

…

[Arena Floor…]

Blade Fox's resounded throughout the arena, silencing everyone. "What's so funny?" asked Meilan, continuing the bear down on her opponent's staff.

"Because I know something that you don't."

Noticing her opponent's legs starting to falter, Meilan could only scoff. "Let me guess; you're not left-handed?"

This did not take the grin she felt off Blade Fox's face. "No…it's just that this weapon is not a staff!"

A single moment was all it took for Blade Fox to regain his footing as he planted both feet into the ground before making a very heavy tug on the staff, forcing the remaining three quarters of the shaft flying to the side like a javelin, revealing the weapon's true form! It was a nodachi!

With whatever strength she could muster, Meilan used what strength she had to back-flip away just to avoid losing her leg as Blade Fox attempted to use a single hand to slice upwards in an attempt to dismember his opponent before bringing it back down to make a low slash and ending it by standing in a ready stance.

…

[Up in the stands…]

"I thought that sword looked familiar!" shouted Tenten, in pure amazement, "That's Monohoshizao!"

Gai turned to face his female student; a mixture of disbelief and amazement—amazement that Tenten was able to identify the sword, but disbelief as to its identity. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive!" answered Tenten, "The exact dimensions of that blade were recorded in the list of Wazamono!"

As he was not as interested in weapons as Tenten was, Lee could not help but wonder as to what was so special about a sword that his female teammate was so active about it. But the way she spoke made it seem like a big deal. "What's so special about that sword?"

Tenten looked at Lee, and also saw her other male teammate looking at her with a 'so what?' silently being said on his face. "Only that it belonged to quite possibly one of the best swordsmen the world has ever seen—it was the sword of Sasaki Kojiro, a contemporary and the ultimate rival of Miyamoto Musashi."

Now this really got Lee's attention; he was by no means a history buff, but even **_he_** knew the second name that Tenten had rolled out—because there was no name in the Shinobi World that was more feared than that of the infamous (yet respected all the same) rōnin Miyamoto Musashi. Even after the man's death by disease a long time ago, the very mention of his name continues to bring chills down the spines of many kunoichi and shinobi to this day (to the point where it is rumored that even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara feared him more than the bogeyman)…and for good reason; Musashi was quite possibly one of the deadliest non-shinobi warriors to have ever graced the world, with a rather high kill count of shinobi and kunoichi alike added to his already impressive dueling record. His rival Sasaki Kojiro was by no means a no-name samurai himself; it was said that up until his ill-fated duel with Musashi on his headquarters and school at Ganryū Island, he was practically untouchable and that his infamous Tsubame Gaeshi was fast enough to earn him a kill count comparable to Musashi's.

"Fate will not save him," interrupted the Hyūga teammate, watching as the two fighters continued their battle, "he's fighting with an opponent that is obviously stronger than he is. No matter the weapon he's chosen, his fate has already been decided for defeat."

"Don't think for a second that fate is set in stone Neji," said Gai, turning to face the pale-eyed boy, "you may be surprised as to the twists in the story that life has in store for us. Sometimes, those twists happen when we least expect them."

…

[The Arena…]

As the fight progressed, it was apparent that Blade Fox was on the defensive—but at the same time, he was able to keep Meilan at a distance with the wide, sweeping cuts of his nodachi, quickly moving the blade in to block whenever she got close, and counterattacking with his now-drawn katana. It was apparent to everyone that the cream-haired boy was strong enough to wield such a heavy weapon in one hand and a regular-sized katana in the other. His opponent on the other hand was able to gracefully dance around the attacks, trying her hardest to get closer and closer to the point where his blades would be useless.

It was at this moment that Meilan caught an opening! She dashed in, jumped over a low slash from the nodachi, side-stepped away from the uppercut from the katana, and managed to graze the side of the mask with her fastest punch, with enough force to put a crack on it. Blade Fox on the other hand, was barely able to bend his body away at the last minute, to the point where he took that graze…however, it wasn't over for him, because Meilan managed to grab the back of his head, drive his forehead into her knee, and then spin around to uppercut him—totally shattering the mask and landing him face-down on the floor.

Seeing the fighter down, the referee was about to call it until he saw the boy standing up. It was at this moment that the entire arena appreciated the look of the Blade Fox's face—smoldering cerulean eyes, six whisker marks framing his face, and a feral grin that seemed to make things disturbing when he was bleeding at the mouth. The boy's identity was clear to Team Gai; this was Uzumaki Naruto! "In all honesty, I'm enjoying this match," he finally said, sheathing his katana, and finally un-summoning his nodachi, "especially now that I know I don't have to hold back!"

Meilan simply scoffed as she watched her opponent get into a hand-to-hand stance. The smile on her face however, was of sincere excitement—now it was on! "You're not the only one that's excited that you're getting serious; I was beginning to wonder if you were worth my time at all."

"Oh, I am…I just hope you've got time for some poetry…"

At that, everyone wondered exactly what this boy was talking about—some even believed that he was going insane. However, this did not stop Naruto from reciting the first line of his rhyme:

_I am the bone of my sword…_

…

**_A/N: I figured for this chapter, if I'm changing Naruto's class, I may as well make Meilan a Striker as well._**


	31. Final Chapter: Preparations

**_A/N: Dear loyal readers, since I am currently working on re-writing this story, I will be stopping all further updates of "Naruto: The Dark Knight". And with such a good team consisting of TrixBella, KurokamiDG (now KokuenDG), and NorthSouthGorem in my corner (whom I shall thank infinitely for helping to solidify and make this story harder, better, faster, stronger), I hope to write a better story that will in turn get more and better reviews. Don't worry, a good number of OC's will stay in the rewrite…how high their character change levels will be turned up will be dependent on the changes I decide to implement._**

**_Also, since I'm ending this version of "Naruto: The Dark Knight", I decided to say 'farewell' to this incarnation of the story with a last chapter (previous two omake chapters were only ideas not yet implemented and are practically adoptable, so they don't really count). So for the sake of saying "R.I.P Old Dark Knight", do read and review would you kindly?_**

{Play: "In Your Belief (Ethnic Version)" by Chiyako Fukuda}

[Konoha Onsen, near the river…]

Whether he was fortunate that the beating he'd received from the women earlier was relatively quick, Jiraiya didn't know…what he did know on the other hand, was that the Kyūbi was now free, and was going to help him train Naruto. "You do realize that was a low-blow getting the other women to finish me off don't you?" he asked.

"Don't you give me that 'what did I do to deserve this' crap," Kurama shot back, "We both know that the material for that half-assed pornography had to come from somewhere."

"Hey, my work isn't half-assed! If it were, then it wouldn't be so popular! And besides, what would a fox like you know about real literature?"

Kurama grinned deviously, wide enough to reveal her four sharpened canines. "I know quite a bit. You might recognize this one: 'Kitsunebi sat in front of her friend Nekohime, the latter shuddering in her bed—whether from fear or desire, she didn't know. Nor did she really care. Their relationship was forbidden and sinful, and even more so due to the fact that they were from two different cultures. Before she could even say a word, the Nekomata princess leaped from the bed and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Their moans of pleasure only served to reinforce their desire to throw caution to the wind, as flesh met flesh in an act of passion only possible between women.'" She gave Jiraiya a contemptuous look. "Original manuscript, page 41, line 1. Take that."

Jiraiya's jaw hit the ground. The excerpt that Kurama had just quoted was from the 'Dōbutsu Monogatari', a rare anthology of stories meant for the adult reader. It was said to have been written long ago during the time of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, a while before Konohagakure no Sato was founded. The popularity of this book was such that it had a cult following of both men and women even today, the latter making up more than half of its readers (a standard that Jiraiya sought to exceed with little success). The author, known only by the pen name "Hikamaru," had gone missing a while before Senju Hashirama fought with Uchiha Madara (apparently in the middle of writing the second book) and was never heard from again…until today, it seemed.

His musings were cut short by Naruto clearing his throat. "Didn't you have something you wanted to show me?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't rush me," he grunted, turning his attention back to the blond, "Anyway, I have a trick for you that may be helpful in the future." The Gama Sennin reached behind him and pulled off the giant scroll hanging on his back and unfurled it. Written at the top were the kanji 'Gama Keiyaku,' and a list of names underneath, written in the traditional format from right to left. "I'll be teaching you the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, which will allow you to summon a creature. First, though, you'll have to sign this contract with your blood."

"No problem," said Naruto. He drew his short sword and ran it across his palm, drawing blood, before cleaning and sheathing it. Closing his fist, he said to the white-haired man, "Just put my hand over where you want me to sign."

Obligingly, Jiraiya took the hand and placed it over a blank space, right next to the name Namikaze Minato, which was crossed out. Once his fist was placed over the spot, Naruto let some of the blood drip onto the paper, before dipping two fingers in it and writing. Jiraiya was surprised to see the blind boy writing his name with the skill of a calligrapher. Where had he learned something like that? "Well done," he grunted, wishing he had hand-writing like that, "So, let's begin…"

…

{Play: "Money" by Pink Floyd}

[Saika District, Tetsu no Kuni…]

Apart from the occasional squeak of a screwdriver, things were surprisingly quiet in Sayaka's garage. Hovering by her shoulder was Gear, carrying a tray of tools for her. She was currently working on two things at once; her new semi-auto pistol and a larger, two-handed new weapon. Of course, the new one was made of hardened bamboo, as per Saika law. The design itself was very simple, but before long she would graduate with a license to make Gatling guns, like some of her older relatives. Until then, I'll have to settle for this thing…

At the moment, all she had left to do was to set the selective-firing mechanism. _Too tight and it'll be too hard to use. Too loose and it won't even fucking work. C'mon! I already got the semi-auto mode,_ she thought to herself, _what's so hard about burst-fire and full-auto?!_ Once she was done with those two, she would just have to give it to her teacher to test.

Picking up her mug of coffee, Sayaka heard the door open. "Ah, how's my favorite genius doing?" asked a deep voice affectionately, "Working hard, I see."

"Hello, Uncle Mifune," Sayaka greeted, taking a sip before picking up the screwdriver, "Yeah, well, I really need to get this right. It's really fu- super finicky."

The corner of Mifune's mustached mouth twitched. "Well, why don't you put that thing down for a second? I want to talk to you about something."

"I can't, Uncle," she growled, trying to keep her hands stable, "If I don't finish this, I'm gonna get a fucking A- for the term! Remember that pistol I gave Carlos? B+."

The Taisho sighed quietly and rolled his eyes. He honestly didn't see what the big deal was about school. He didn't get much education and look how he turned out! Still…he supposed kids these days did need to learn the fundamentals of life. Or, in Sayaka's case, the fundamentals of building weapons. "Your gun is not going to get up and walk away, Sayaka-chan. Will you at least listen?"

"Fine." At this point, Sayaka realized that she just wasn't going to get rid of her uncle and stood up. Making yet another cup of coffee (full of sugar, milk and cream), she turned to Mifune and gestured for him to continue.

Seeing that he now had a (somewhat) captive audience, he began, "Now, then…I've just been to see your principal. I've told him that you've been spending too much time indoors for your assignments. In addition, there are those claims about one of your teachers…playing politics against you, we agreed that you need some time out of the village."

"Uh huh. Well, as I have said about five times already, Uncle Mifune…I don't have the time! I need to finish this! And even then, where would I be going?"

"I decided we should look in on the Chūnin Exams in Konohagakure no Sato in a month. Guess who's participating."

"Some nobody Shinobi who I don't give a crap about?" she muttered sarcastically under her breath, raising her mug to hide it.

However, Mifune heard her and thus decided to wait until she was well into her swig. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Her eyes widened behind her glass as she sprayed coffee all over the place. Gear, who was in the path of the spit-take, took off in disgust. After a moment of sputtering incoherently, Mifune finally took pity on his niece and produced a handkerchief from his sleeve for her to wipe her mouth, smirking as he did so. "N-Na-Naruto-kun?" she asked, her sudden breathlessness having nothing to do with choking on her coffee.

"Yes indeed," he replied, grinning in outright amusement, "He's taking the exams, as is Baihe Meilan. Since I was already planning to leave Tetsu to get some fresh air, I figured you'd like to see your friend again, so I spoke with your principal." His smile briefly became devious. "After all, he has certain secrets that he wouldn't want getting out."

Sayaka had no clue what her uncle was talking about, but knew that if not for the code of Bushido, Mifune would have made for a formidable Shinobi. "Still…I don't think I can," she said reluctantly, "I vowed that I was gonna wow that teacher before the end of the term."

That devious twist returned to Mifune's smile as she turned back to her submachine gun, now somewhat gloomy. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said with mock sadness, "It's a shame, since I felt you weren't the only one who could use the fresh air, I invited Makoto-chan along too."

Somewhere in the distance, a guitar string broke with an amusing *twang.* "What?" asked Sayaka flatly. Even with her back turned, Mifune could just see the expression of purest loathing on her face, "What was that, Uncle?"

And with that, he knew he had her. "Oh, well, I thought that Makoto-chan should also get to see the sights outside the village, to which her father agreed. I wonder if meeting Naruto-san will be as good for her as it was for you?"

Her chair squeaked loudly beneath her as she whirled about to give Mifune such a furious look that he laughed. He loved riling his niece up every once in a while. "I'm coming too."

"Glad to hear it. But what about your assignment?"

"I'll do it on the road. It's not due until we get back anyway. Gear!" The little robot flew in, freshly cleaned of coffee. Mifune wasn't sure what the beeps, whirs and clicks meant, but they were most likely a form of assent. "Get all these tools and parts packed up for the road; we're going on a trip. And so help me, if there's one piece missing, I'll make you wish that you were a coffee pot! I won't give Nago-sensei even one excuse to give the project anything less than an A!"

She didn't even bother listening to the confirmation of her command and bolted from the workshop to start packing. Mifune was left laughing in her wake. Even as he turned to go, though, a certain blueprint caught his eye. It was of a robot, but with measurements that could match a Bijuu in height at the very least. He had been there when Sayaka had shown this poster to her parents, not long before Naruto and Meilan had left Tetsu. This was her ultimate dream, along with that of every mechanic under sun; to find the lost blueprints of the lost automaton of the Empyrean Rebellion: Gae Bolg. Or rather, to build a robot that could equal, if not surpass it. Of course, most others considered such a dream to be the height of foolishness, even Mifune, who had heard the stories about Gae Bolg. But then again, Sayaka had both resolve and genius; combine that with a serious aptitude for machines, and who knows? Maybe she'll be the fool to pull it off one day…

…

[Konoha Onsen, near the river…]

For about four hours, Naruto had thrown himself into his Kuchiyose training, and his progress was slow, but good. His first few summons had only been tadpoles, but over time had grown older and older. On the one hand, Jiraiya was proud of his new student, but on the other hand, there was something off. Unless the toad sage's senses were deceiving him, Naruto seemed to be passively absorbing nature energy without the need to stand still. Each time he performed the jutsu, he seemed send some sort of command through his hands and siphon off a bit of chakra from the environment. In addition to that, there was something else… Ah hah. "Oi, kid, I think I know what your problem is," said Jiraiya, "You're using way too little chakra to summon anything bigger. Even that Senjutsu won't help you at all, so don't even bother with it."

"Senjutsu…?" Naruto asked, befuddled, "What do you- ah! You mean Mana, right?"

It was Jiraiya's turn to be confused. "Mana?"

"Yeah. Well, that's what GSD-sensei calls it. From what I learned, chakra is made from a mix of spiritual energy, Mana, and physical, Nen energy. I got no idea how it works, but apparently jutsu and spells all work with ratios between Nen and Mana. Anyway, he also taught me how to absorb mana from the air so I can use it."

A way to absorb Nature energy without stillness? What the hell is that? But then, Jiraiya remembered that it was GSD. Considering that the man had been around before chakra, it probably shouldn't be all that surprising that he knew such a method. "Well, whatever. I need you to stop holding back," he said finally, "I can see that your movements are alright, but really that doesn't mean too much, especially in a battle situation. I need to see what you can do when you pull out all the stops."

"You sure you want that?" the blond asked in a mocking, sing-song voice, "If I use a lot of chakra, I might someone you don't want to see."

Jiraiya smacked him over the head. "Don't take that tone with me, brat. And if that happens…then I'll know you're good enough. Now hop to it."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, then shrugged, thinking 'your funeral'. Bringing his hands together with a loud clap, he began drawing on as much Mana from within himself as he could, mixing in the minimum amount of Nen. As he stood there, Jiraiya could actually feel himself being pulled towards the boy, as if he were caught in a monstrous whirlpool. Finally, Naruto abruptly flew through the handseals and slammed his palms on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The area was engulfed in smoke in an instant. As the cloud mounted higher, Jiraiya was filled with a proportional amount of dread. Oh damn. Looks like the brat actually summoned him. But then, the smoke cleared, the white-haired man blinked in surprise, though his dread did not disappear. At Naruto's feet were two small toads, one purple and one green, each taking a stance. "Eh? Where are we, Pa?" asked the purple one, dropping her stance and looking around, "How'd we get here?"

Naruto, on the other hand, was somewhat put out. "What, that's it?" he asked, panting, "All that Mana and I only got these…puny…" he collapsed midsentence, unconscious.

"Hm…I'm guessing we got summoned," said the green toad, analyzing the boy as a red-skinned woman caught him mid-fall. "Jiraiya, this boy used too much chakra and exhausted himself, didn't he?"

Jiraiya scowled back at him. "Bah, don't pin this on me, Pa! I didn't tell him to use so much. Besides, I didn't even know he even had enough to summon you. But even besides that, it seems that he can use Senjutsu without having to stay still. I thought you and Ma said that was impossible."

The purple toad raised her eyebrows, still staring at Naruto. "Really, now? Well, ain't that interesting, eh Fukasaku? And even without that he still summoned us. I'd say that's enough to give him credit for. Whoever taught him definitely knew what they were doing too, to know the old ways…"

"Hm…true enough, Shima," agreed Fukasaku, "This one's got some massive potential. But then, he'd have to, for GSD-Jii to take interest in him. That said, I don't envy him...with those arms of his, he's gonna have a long road ahead of him."

Even as Jiraiya looked at his companion in confusion, Shima said, "Ask that fox-bitch," indicating Kurama, who was rocking Naruto in her arms, "She knows as much about this as the Senju and Uchiha."

Mentally, Jiraiya made a note to do just that.

…

[Outskirts of Konoha—Sunset…]

The wilderness outside of Konohagakure no Sato held many wondrous secrets for any nature-lover. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had set up several secret camps in preparation for the upcoming invasion of his old village. With his knowledge of the terrain, he was able to hide thousands upon thousands of Shinobi in the jungle.

"Anyone seen Shima?" asked one Oto-nin.

"Nope. I think he went out hunting," another answered, "Why, Genda?"

"Orochimaru-sama has orders for him," replied Genda, "But anyway, we need to get ready for the attack. Every officer here's got to memorize their jobs so there won't be any loose ends."

"Heh…can't wait!" another Oto-nin laughed darkly, "I've always wanted a chance to knock Konoha down a peg. We're gonna show the world that Otogakure is on the rise!"

Everyone in earshot sent up a cheer in agreement. While some had only joined because of their hatred for Konoha, and others for the plunder, all of them carried the same fearful loyalty towards Orochimaru. "Well, that's a mighty fine goal to have," said a voice from beyond the trees. Everyone looked around as an old, mustached man stepped into the camp, a sword in one hand and a severed head in the other. "However…none of you will live long enough to see it."

…

{Play: "Ancient Zone" from "Street Fighter EX 3"}

[Uchiha Dojo…]

The Uchiha Dojo had originally been built to train the Uchiha military police officers, both for times of war and peace. Senju Hashirama himself had constructed the building out of ironwood seeds, while time-space seals were applied by the Uzumaki clan head of the time. The seals were designed to cause regeneration in the structure, both from damage in training and even from age. As a result, it had withstood the years easily. Before the Massacre, the clan had even used it as a war-room. Such was its design that, in preparation for his battle with the Shodaime, Uchiha Madara had locked himself in there to fast, meditate and train.

Uchiha Satsuki and Tsukiko both sat in seiza position with their slave next to them, waiting for their mother to begin speaking. "The two of you," she began, "Have grown to be such fine women already. What I'm about to teach you is a bit advanced, but I think you'll be fine. According to the reports, Kakashi taught you how to use Nature Transformation, right?"

The sisters looked at each other, taken aback by the sudden question. "Ah…a bit, yeah. When we were in Nami no Kuni," Tsukiko said, "Why?"

Mikoto smiled and made a set of seven hand seals and gripped her wrist. Electricity crackled for a second across her fingers, creating a few small chirps, before the hand became obscured by a ball of lightning. Small bolts occasionally flayed the air as she held it up, the sound of chirping rising to a cacophony even in the spacious dojo. "This," said the Uchiha matriarch, "Is most likely why he taught you that. He probably wanted to burn a hatred of Naruto-kun into your hearts, so you would kill him with it." Even as her daughters shuddered at the thought, she dismissed the technique and continued, "I once saw him attempt to kill Naruto-kun with this jutsu. The only reason he failed was because I called in the ANBU. Later, I decided that I would end Kakashi's life with that technique, his one and only original one. So I worked in my spare time to recreate it while also training up my Lightning transformation. Sadly, he's already dead, and from what I heard his death wasn't even ironic. Still, I decided it would be better to teach it to you instead."

Satsuki was the first to speak. "You're going to teach us Kakashi-baka's…original jutsu?" she asked, half awed and half apprehensive.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes indeed. However, I'm only going to show you the first step. Since Kakashi did actually finish your Nature Transformation, now you'll be learning Shape Manipulation." Then she turned to Sakura. "As for you, Haruno-chan, I do hope that your…experiences at the Chūnin Exams have taught you a lesson."

The pink-haired girl remained silent but hung her head in humiliation. She had shamed her mistresses with her failure. She really was a useless servant; the fact that she'd let Satsuki and Tsukiko get marked and had only ended her fight with Ino in a draw only compounded the matter. However, before her thoughts could continue down that depressing path, she felt a hand cup her chin as Mikoto made her meet her eyes. "You have grown quite a bit in the past few months under my daughters," she said gently, "But, I cannot allow you to remain as you are. If you want to become a real Kunoichi, or even a member of the Uchiha clan (albeit a slave), I must prove that you can actually be useful."

Sakura suppressed a whimper as the woman released her. _More!_ moaned Inner-Sakura, _Touch us more, Mikoto-sama!_

The Uchiha matriarch continued, "I will give you the rest of the day off, to give you a chance to think of your future. If you want to continue, then be warned: I will be demanding and will expect no less than five hundred percent effort from you. I don't want to rush you, but you must think about your decision very carefully. You may go."

Bowing respectfully, the girl got up and left the dojo. _What should I do?_ she wondered to herself, taking in the sights, _Do I really want to live like this? Do I really…want to serve mistresses like this?_

_Figure it out yourself,_ grunted Inner-Sakura unhelpfully.

While Sakura knew that she had quite a bit of time to make the decision, she also knew that it would not be an easy choice. Did she really want to be a Kunoichi enslaved to the Uchiha clan? Or was there something else that she wanted from her life?

…

[Tetsu no Kuni…]

Sayaka walked towards the carriage, carrying a pair of cases with her. She mentally took stock of what she was bringing; in one case was practically a miniature workshop for completing her homework, full of compact, functional tools. For self-defense, she carried a pair of ornate vine-covered semi-auto pistols with eight ten-round clips. The other case…just had fresh changes of clothes, plus one other thing for seducing Naruto.

"Ara ara, if it isn't Shūriko-chan!" A high voice sang out behind Sayaka, making her freeze, "How are your assignments going? Didn't you get a B+ on the last project? Such a shame that the prodigy is falling behind so much."

Even without looking, Sayaka knew who it was, although she was a little surprised that her glasses hadn't actually broken at that grating pitch. Eye twitching, she turned slowly to confirm that it was, in fact, that girl. Yagyū Makoto, heiress to the samurai clan which had instructed many of daimyo and samurai in the country. She was around the same height as Sayaka, wearing a very colorful, flowery kimono, one silken sleeve covering her mouth to stifle a giggle. Her dark, violet hair was done in a hime cut, and a katana was slung neatly across her back. In short, everything about the girl fairly screamed 'Yamato Nadeshiko.'

The clan's Yagyū Shinkage-ryū was one of the most famous sword styles in Tetsu no Kuni, on par with that of her ancestor's contemporary, the venerable Miyamoto Musashi. Makoto, in Sayaka's opinion, was not a credit to her family. For one thing, while she looked the text-book definition of a Yamato Nadeshiko in peace-time, she was a pure sadist in a fight. Oddly enough, neither of her parents were known for that sort of thing, so it was a mystery as to why that was. Well, a mystery to everyone except Sayaka, who supposed that the behavior had started with…**_that__ incident_**!

…

[Flashback: Yagyū Estate, Tetsu no Kuni—almost seven years ago, approximate time of 'the incident'…]

A little girl around five stood in the training grounds of the Yagyū estate, practicing her sword swings with the specialized shinai in her hands. It'd been a good three weeks since she'd started her training in the Yagyū Shinkage Ryū and already Makoto was showing some progress—as proven by the amount of sweat she was breaking out. "Methinks I see a prodigy," said a voice approaching her from behind, "and one with a bright future no less."

Makoto turned around to see that it was General Mifune with a young and scowling girl around her age with rich, creamy blonde hair that indicated she was of the Saika clan. "Is your father around?" asked Mifune, "I'm looking to spar with the old man…that and he wanted to see me for some reason."

It was no secret that the Yagyū clan trained top-tier swordsmen—some of whom became instructors for daimyō, while others were hired out as bodyguards. It was known to Makoto that Mifune and his younger brother Toshiro studied with her father Munenori…the brothers were so badass in her opinion that she didn't simply want to be the general of the samurai, she wanted to become the first female shogun of Tetsu no Kuni! "He's in the main compound, kicking the asses of some of my cousins," she said, working hard to subdue her inner fangirl upon seeing the general up close before turning her attention back to the Saika girl, "and who's this?"

"Makoto, I'd like you to meet Saika Sayaka, my niece," introduced Mifune, nudging the little girl towards her, "I'll let you two get to know each other better."

Watching as Mifune walked towards the clan compound with a bokken in hand, it was clear that she was to pretty much babysit his niece. With a sight, Makoto then turned to the girl with the weird-looking contraption she was fiddling with in her hands. "What's that you got there?"

The girl looked towards her with a disapproving scowl, before turning her attention back to her device. What Toshiro-sama saw in that Saika woman, Makoto honestly didn't know if that was how their daughter was like. "Nothing much, just a weapon I was designing," she finally said, still tweaking away at the weapon, "it's a flamethrower."

"Flamethrower?" asked Makoto, honestly interested in the device, "does it work?"

"I honestly don't…AGH!" No sooner than she let out that yelp of surprise than when a jet of some greasy liquid splashed on Makoto's face. "That's odd," said the girl, inspecting the flamethrower, "it really shouldn't be…WOAH!" She was interrupted by a burst of flame that Makoto quickly side-stepped from. "Ummm…"

Losing her temper, Makoto quickly turned to glare at the little girl who almost barbecued her. "WHAT?!"

Sayaka shrunk from the outburst. "Yourhairisonfire."

Before she could process what it was that the Saika girl said, Makoto realized she'd smelled something burning. It was then that she hazarded a glance upward, and she saw what it was that Sayaka was saying…HER FREAKING HAIR WAS ON FIRE! Immediately, her instinct was to run screaming, and dive into the nearest body of water—which just so happened to be a lily pond.

It was at this point that Sayaka let out the bout of laughter that she'd tried so hard to contain. Oh, she was going to get it one day! And the heated glares they exchanged with each other made it clear the amount of distate that the two of them would continue to be mutual.

…

Even so, the white-haired girl wasn't about to let her rival get her licks in without returning fire. "Tch, it's a work in progress," she snapped, "And least I know how to spend my time developing! Speaking of which, did you graduate from a training bra yet?"

Only Sayaka's eye, so used to these spats, spotted the minute twitch at Makoto's temple. Her eye cracked open, showing a brief flash of golden brown. "Maa, no need to be petty about it," she said with a small and ominous giggle, not moving her sleeve. While it seemed like she was trying to keep her elegant composure, the Saika knew it was because Makoto's true feelings always showed through her mouth. "After all, I know you have to compensate for my charm. They do say…ah what is it, that 'flat is justice?'"

Sayaka rolled her eyes and smirked. The Yagyū heiress always resorted to that saying, trying to make it look like she was the more desirable of the two. "First off, there ain't nothin' 'just' about you, princess. Second, no matter how you spin it, loli-bait is still loli-bait."

"How crass! I have absolutely no intention of inviting such attention!" Makoto cried in mock horror. "Well, at least I'll never have to worry about my breasts sagging. You should probably watch out, though, with all that coffee."

Sayaka's eyes hardened. "Bitch, you did not just shit-talk my coffee."

"Oh, did I say that out loud? I'm sorry! I didn't realize you liked that muck so much."

"Keep talking, sadistic loli! See what happens!"

Sparks erupted as they glared at each other, along with the distant sound of yowling cats. Suddenly, Sayaka charged with a battle cry, while Makoto put a hand to her katana. Her mouth, finally revealed for all to see, was twisted in a snarl of rage. After all, she had **_that incident_** to repay.

*Whack!*

However, any thoughts of revenge were promptly knocked out of their heads as a pair of hands grabbed the backs of their skulls and cracked them together. Both girls collapsed with girlish squeals of pain that they would later deny fervently that they'd made. "No," said Carlos Binarius flatly, standing over them, "No cat-fights. I don't give a damn who said what, or who's got a grudge against whom. It's gonna be several weeks of travel, and if I have to listen to you squabble over things like breast size or what boy you like, I will rebuild Gae Bolg on my own and use it to punch you two into the stratosphere!"

As both girls raised themselves off the ground, Makoto gave Sayaka a look of incredulous, pleading shock. "Who is this cretin?" she asked silently.

"A real troublesome guy," the Saika grimaced back.

It was, perhaps, fortunate that he'd gotten them to stop. Their respective guards had arrived, along with Mifune. There were eight guards in total, four each from the Saika and Yagyū clans. Each Marksman and Swordsman was considered an absolute artist, the best of the best. Once a Saika sniper had the target in his sights, it would be lights; likewise, the Yagyū clan's upperclassmen were completely unmatched at close range. The problem, however, was that neither side was inclined to work alongside with each other. As such, Mifune had assigned Carlos to head the security detail impartially. Seeing both sides glaring at the green-haired man for laying hands on their respective heiresses, the General cleared his throat. "Well then, everyone, since we're here we might as well get on the road. I for one want to see how the finals in Konoha turn out."

Distracted from their resentment, they agreed. After all, nothing like gladiatorial fights to bring family together.

…

[Konoha Onsen…]

Even to a demon like Kurama, the quiet murmur of the nearby river flowing was relaxing enough to put her to sleep. She supposed that it might have been worth it to bring the smelling salts, but she didn't want Naruto to get addicted to them. Just as she thought that, however, the blond stirred in her lap and sat up. "Enjoy your rest, kit?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'enjoy,'" he grunted, stretching his aching body and standing up, "What happened? I remember summoning two puny toads."

Kurama chuckled. "You did more than that. Shima and Fukasaku are second highest on Myobokuzan's food chain, even higher than that obnoxious toad Gamabunta, who you were trying to go for." She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled his cheek. "Normally they probably would've tested you, but since you managed to summon them on your very first try, I doubt they'll bother."

Naruto smiled with no small amount of pride at that. While he didn't know them personally yet, he was glad to have impressed someone so high up. Then he noted the lack of a presence. "Where'd Ero-sensei get to?"

"Oh, he went to speak to the Sandaime," answered the demon in a bored voice, "I told him about the Curse of Kazan, so doubtlessly he's gone to tell him everything I did."

A slight frown creased his face. "You…told him everything?"

"Mm. Shima told him to ask me," she confirmed, "But no, I only told him the basics. Like most other people, he thought it was just a horror story, but I'm sure he'll figure out the details on his own."

"I see," said Naruto, thinking about it. He could only wonder as to how jiji would take to hearing about the curse. Well, he's probably seen enough to not be too surprised. His train of thought was interrupted by a hearty laugh from Kurama. "Well then, back to business," she said, "Like Jiraiya-baka, I have a contract for you to sign, but it will be much easier for you to use."

He quirked an eyebrow, curious. He'd already signed one contract, so why would he need another? "Before you ask," she added, "There are Shinobi who've signed multiple contracts. Of course, it's rare that they can summon multiple ones at the same time. The contract I have for you will make things much more convenient. Well, if you think you're ready for it."

Naruto's head tilted back in thought for a moment, before setting his mouth resolutely. "Well, I won't get anything by not trying, will I?"

Kurama's grin widened, showing sharp fangs and she clapped her hands together. Pulling them apart revealed a large scroll, which she quickly hugged to her body before it fell. Once she got a good grip on it, Kurama unfurled it, showing far more names than on the Toad Contract. "This," she explained, "Is the Ghost Contract. A lot of Slayers have signed this one, even before the Rikudō Sennin came around. Once he sealed the Jūbi into himself, though, it fell out of use. Now, however, I think it's time for you to take up that tradition."

One thing that must be said, first and foremost, was that Naruto trusted Kurama. He knew she always had his best interests at heart, but at the same time, he had to wonder what she was up to. "I can already summon the Kazan ghost," he pointed out carefully, trying not to sound dubious, "What's special about this contract?"

"All Slayers can summon a ghost of Kazan. It's one of the basic Slayer techniques, after all," she agreed easily, "However, there is a special discipline of Slayers who can summon other, more powerful ghosts. That's what you need the contract for. Also…" a red finger stroked his bicep gently, "You'll be able to take off your shackles. It won't cure you, of course, but it's still convenient."

Unbidden, Naruto's arms tensed, rustling the chains on them slightly. In the years of his training, there had often been times where Naruto wholeheartedly wished he could hide his afflicted arms. Unfortunately, the bulky size of his shackles rendered sleeves impossible, so he was forced to go about with his crimson arms in full view. Now, though… "Alright, I'll do it," he said bluntly.

"Same as the Toads, more or less," said Kurama, shrugging, "Sign it with your blood. Then you'll get reverse-summoned to…somewhere. What happens next is up to you."

Grimacing, Naruto pulled out his short sword and cut his hand for the second time that day. His exact thoughts on the matter were, _I'm gonna bleed to death before I become the Hokage!_ Again he signed the contract, only for his hand to be grabbed. He jumped as Kurama licked his palm, "Ack! What's that for?"

"It'll disinfect the wound and help it heal faster," she said matter-of-factly, "Also, Anko-chan had it right, your blood really does taste best."

Before he could reply, Naruto suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Sighing, Kurama rolled the scroll back up and dismissed it, completely unsurprised by her mate's disappearance. "Well, then…good luck, kit. Give him a good show, won't you?" She stood up and stretched. "I should go get some real clothes," she murmured. A loud grumbling from her stomach interjected. "Hm, and maybe some food too."

…

{Play: "The Golden Spider" by Chiyako Fukuda}

[St. Peter's Square, Pandemonium…]

All was quiet in the area once known as the Vatican. The cool air sweeping the place only added to the sense of desolation in the once holy city. The only real sounds were the moaning of the ghosts drifting aimlessly about and the disembodied chanting of long-dead monks. Suddenly, the monotony was disturbed by a puff of smoke. Naruto, shaking off his momentary confusion, immediately sent out a 24-kHz chakra pulse in all directions. All that registered to his senses, though, was death in every part of the city. Cautiously, he put his hand to the hilt of Mizu-hime, only for four energy signatures to spike around him. They all coalesced into skeletal warriors, spears aimed at vital spots and poised to strike. Each wore a cuirass and pauldrons over gold and violet-striped clothing, along with steel helmets that concealed their faces. Even as he took this in, a fifth one appeared and stabbed straight at his forehead.

He stiffened even as the unexpected strike approached. However, even as he resigned himself to an early death, the spear stopped about an inch from his face. They remained frozen for a moment, in the meantime Naruto extended his senses to his surroundings again. All five seemingly glared at him until finally the fifth ghost removed his spear and turned his attention to the others. "Non ucciderlo," the skeleton said in a hard, cold voice, "il re vuole vedero."

Two more guards materialized and grabbed Naruto's shoulders, while a third one appeared and chained his feet together. He was promptly escorted from the courtyard, the first four spears still poised to stab him in several instantly fatal spots. Pretty thorough of them, he thought, Plus these chains are drawing my mana out. I bet these ghosts have met mages before... Switching to a more spectral form of sight, Naruto saw that all of his guards were constructed or at least held together by mana.

Eventually, their procession entered a building. Naruto sensed a good deal more ghosts around them, looking at him in curiosity, before the guards suddenly stopped. "So," called a voice from up ahead, "This is the one who signed the contract? It's been a while since anyone living did that."

He extended his sight and was able to make out the speaker, along with those with him. A humanoid male sat on a throne, wearing a long cape, a mask made of what appeared to be gold and strange, archaic clothing underneath. Standing next to him was a machine, apparently lightyears ahead from the Saika clan in technology, apparently female. On the other side stood a hulking suit of armor, filled with roaring flames. Briefly switching on his spectral vision, Naruto took an involuntary step back. A fog of absolute, dark power surrounded him, coming from both the armor and the king. "Come," said the man, raising a hand, "Why don't you show me...the value of your soul?"

The blond gasped as a cold sensation passed through his back and out his chest. It quickly faded, but he kept on his guard, feeling faintly violated somehow. "Interesting," murmured the King, inclining his head to look down at him, "Normally I get Berserkers looking to get rid of their shackles. Other times it's a Soul Bender looking to advance in their arts. I believe I haven't received an Asura before, let alone one as badly cursed as you. But...I can tell already what you want. You want to be freed from your chains, right?"

Before Naruto could stop himself, he asked, "You're the boss of the Ghost Contract, aren't you?" At that point, it was so obvious that he need not have asked, but it was best to get it out of the way.

"Yes indeed," said the man, clapping briefly. He stood up and walked towards him, "Congratulations on getting it on the first try. Yes, I'm the Ghost boss. But that's only my title." He extended a hand. "I am the head scientist of this land, and Maō of the Ghost Contract to you." Gesturing at the motionless gynoid behind him, he continued, "This is my most trusted advisor and guard, Ignis, and that," indicating the armor, "Is the first Soul Bender in existence, Zieg. He is also the general of my army."

Even as Naruto processed the information, the Maō glanced at Zieg and nodded. Instantly the hulking, hellish armor barreled towards him, seizing him by the neck and lifting him up. His grip tightened as he sent pulses of mana into the Jinchuuriki, before abruptly dropping him. Coughing, Naruto tried to stand up and regain his composure, only to feel a burning in his arms. He fell to his knees and grabbed them with a hiss of pain. Beneath his grip, fifteen glowing yellow runes appeared, etching themselves into his skin from wrist to shoulder. Finally, the pain stopped and Naruto experienced a quietness that he hadn't realized he'd never felt before. As if a malevolent voice in his head had suddenly been muffled. "I saw quite a bit from my scans," Maō was saying, "And since I liked what I saw, I decided to forgo the usual experimentation." Naruto shivered at the slight sinister grin he gave. "Because I like your potential, I had Zieg here give you a gift. You will no longer be dependent on your limiters, and you'll be allowed to summon the ghosts of this Contract. However, my generosity only goes so far. All Slayers that come to me for help must all pay the same price. Once you die, your soul will belong to me!"

Naruto stiffened. Is he serious? he wondered, even as the guards released him, Is this some kind of sick joke? This guy releases my chains only if I give him my soul? Not a chance in hell! I won't accept an ending like that! But how can I fight something like him...? Suddenly, inspiration came to him. Well...if I'm gonna lose my soul, I might as well lose it in a gamble. I just need to catch his attention.

…

[Almost four years ago…]

Three dead lizards were skewered over a crackling fire pit. That wasn't a metaphor, either, it was just dinner. GSD, Meilan and Naruto all sat in silence around their campfire, the night sky doing nothing for their mood. Only a few days ago, the blond boy had used a particularly powerful technique, one that had robbed him of his sight. He was distraught. How could I be so stupid? No technique should have a price like this! Or at least it shouldn't be so easy to learn by accident…and I hurt Meilan too. What kind of guy puts their friends in danger?

"You seem troubled," GSD observed, reaching out to grab a lizard-kebob, "What's on your mind, Naruto?"

"Nothing…" mumbled Naruto, touching his blindfold unconsciously. He picked up his skewer as well. "I'm just…well, I know you said that the Lethe's Bell made me forget that Skill, but I can still remember doing all that stuff."

The old man nodded understandingly. "Ah. Yes, that is how the Bell works. Do not worry. It has been said that any warriors who used that artifact experienced the same thing. With a single ring, they would forget how to use their own Skills, and so develop their abilities all over again. It did not, however, give them total amnesia; they could still remember everything else."

"That's not what I mean," Naruto sighed, shaking his head, "What I meant was, I never even wanted to learn that technique, let alone use it. I was practicing with that other one you were teaching me and it…got out of hand. And now, even before I got to choose my Slayer path, I'm blind."

GSD frowned. It wasn't as if he didn't understand the boy's feelings; he too missed his vision. A memory came to him, suddenly. "Hm…but perhaps you will not have to stay that way."

Both Naruto and Meilan looked up, curious and attentive. "Is there really a way that Naruto-kun can get his eyes back?" asked Meilan.

"Well…maybe," hedged the old man, "I only know of it happening to me, but there's always the chance that it could happen with you. It might give you hope." He beckoned both children closer, Meilan leaning comfortably on Naruto. Finally, GSD began, "It all started the day I no longer had anything to learn. You know you're a master Slayer when you simply cannot strengthen your Skills any more, and there are no more Skills to learn from any path. I remember it well…as I sat down under a nearby tree, I remember being proud of myself. After all, how many Slayers could truthfully say that they'd reached the point that I had? However, the next thing I knew, I was falling down through an abyss. When my senses cleared again, I was standing in a place full of sand, with someone standing across from me: the Avatar of Kazan."

"What's an Avatar?" asked Naruto bluntly.

GSD snorted at the question. "An Avatar is a representation of a god or demon, or at least one that lesser beings can comprehend. It's like the form that Kurama-san takes when she appears before you. Anyway, this Avatar represented the demon Kazan, and he made a bet with me. We would fight, of course. If I won, he would give me my sight again. If I lost…he would take full possession of my body. Naturally, at my age, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to become perfect." He smiled bitterly. "But…perfection was beyond me. I fought that demon with every ounce of strength in my body. But for every hit I landed, I took at least three in return. For every strategy I came up with, he perfectly countered it. Eventually, though, I managed to pull through and won. Satisfied, I dropped my guard for a moment, and in that second, he made that victory into a draw. Since I won, I was not taken over by the demon, and my aging stopped at sixty four. However, since I also lost, I did not get my sight back."

Naruto choked on a piece of lizard. "S-stopped aging—oi…"

"It's true," GSD assured him casually, "Can't tell you how old I am, though. I lost count after three hundred."

"Besides that, though, do you know any other stories like that?" asked Meilan, steering the conversation back on track.

He only shrugged. "If there are others who've fought that battle, I have never heard their stories. They were probably out there, though." An eyebrow twitched. "Hm…now that I think about it, I wonder if the Rikudō Sennin had that fight as well. Considering that he never mastered any of the four Slayer paths, I'm surprised; it's obvious that he won."

"Did you ever fight with the avatar again?" asked Naruto.

GSD sighed gloomily. "If I had, do you think I'd still be blind? No. I never encountered that one again, no matter how much training I went through." He straightened up. "You, however…I told you that story, Naruto, because you've yet to meet the Avatar yourself. I did not get my sight back, and will never again be able to, but you…I know that you will triumph where I failed. Where we all failed."

{Play: "Blue Oni" by Hideyuki Fukasawa}

Naruto bowed his head, solemnly and silently acknowledging the gravity of his master's words. "Yeah. I'll do it. Even if it kills me, I'll beat that demon so hard it won't be able to see itself."

"Well, maybe not that far," GSD chuckled.

The blond snorted, but didn't comment, then took a bite out of his lizard.

…

[St Peter's Basilica, Pandemonium—Present day…]

As his memory of that night ended, Naruto grinned. "Care to wager?" he said quickly. He didn't want the deal sealed too soon.

The Maō turned back to face him, a brief look of surprise crossing his face. Then his eyes narrowed in interest. Finally, he shrugged and said, "Hmph. I don't see why not. Normally, I'd have already killed you for your guts, but…well, I've got nothing but time. Make your claim."

Naruto raised a hand and pointed emphatically at the man. "I'm going to get my sight back," he declared boldly, leaving no room for uncertainty, "And when I do, I'm going to keep my soul when I learn all those secret techniques. And then you're gonna help me find a cure for the Curse of Kazan."

His eyes stilled, hidden behind the golden mask. The obvious curiosity was twinkling in the eyes of the Maō. "If nothing else, you've got bravery. But I'll need some incentive to agree to this; what will you give me if you fail?"

A wide, sharp-toothed smile stretched across Naruto's face. Had Relius been anyone else, he might have been unnerved. "You're a ghost, right? If there's one thing I know about ghosts, it's that they miss being alive. I bet not even the king of ghosts feels differently. If I lose to the Avatar of Kazan…you get me. Not just my soul, but also my body. You can live again, eat again, fight until you break down, whatever you want. Your call, King."

He extended a hand, waiting for a handshake. The king of the ghosts did not move, his eyes boring emotionlessly into the younger male. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, a confident smile grew across his own face and he stood up. "That's quite a wager," he said casually, his voice doing nothing to hide the greed shining in his eyes, "But I suppose you peasants must make do with something. I suppose…" his hand, cold as iron and nearly as strong, closed in a vice grip on Naruto's own fingers, "There might just be something behind those guts."

Naruto started to fade away as the Maō banished him back to his own world. "If you manage to fully awaken as a Slayer while you live," the Boss Ghost added, "I will have a special…surprise for you. Now then…entertain me, Uzumaki Naruto. Show me what kind of man you intend to become!"

…

{Play: "Tsurugi no Mai" by NUJABES, from "Samurai Champloo"}

[Sennen Fubuki —Night…]

The other diners could only watch in horrified fascination at a red-skinned woman who was eating like there was no tomorrow. The speed at which she ate twelve (no, rather, fifteen) bowls of unaju was already on par with the demon-boy's when it came to Ichiraku's ramen. Some also wondered how, with how much she was eating, she did not gain so much as a swollen stomach from the quantity. The ten mugs of strong mead only compounded the curiosity. It was as though she had fasted for an enormously long period; a thought that Akimichi Chōza could only shudder at.

During one particularly long swig of drink, a cloud of smoke exploded next to her with a 'poof.' Without pausing, she reached out with one hand and dragged Naruto down onto a chair next to her. "How'd it go?" she asked casually.

Naruto shrugged, grimacing. "'Bout as well as it could have. Definitely reminded me why I hate ghosts; that Maō guy creeped me the fuck out. I got a huge 'bad news' vibe off him when I made the bet with him.

Setting down her mug, Kurama gave him a serious look. "Did he accept?"

"'Course. You know how I am with shit like that. Glad he let me go, though. I felt like he was gonna pull something if I stayed any longer."

She sighed. "Alright, start from the top. What happened?"

Naruto spared the Yoko no detail as he recounted the story of the Ghost Contract. He glossed over his recollection of GSD's story, as she'd heard it before, then told her about his deal, giving her his exact words, along with those of the Maō. When he finished, she laughed quietly. "So, it all worked out in the end. I was going to train you to eventually deal with that thing anyway, but you already knew that." It wasn't a question. "And even without it…I'll make sure you get your sight back, one way or another."

Naruto pounced on her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist wordlessly. Kurama smiled gently at her future mate and alpha male, basking in the quiet faith that emanated from his embrace. She would not fail him. "There's something I should make clear, though," she said, her smile fading slightly, "You must not trust the Ghost Boss. As long as it's for science, he will always find a way to come out on top. And since you're the first chakra-using Slayer he's met…" Naruto understood what she was getting at and nodded. "If he wins your bet, you can be sure that he'll make everyone's lives a living hell with his experimentations. And let's just say, Orochimaru would get down on his hands and knees in respect for him. His ruthlessness is unsurpassed."

The enormity of the wager finally sank in for Naruto. It seemed that the consequences wouldn't be nearly as personal as he'd thought. Everyone around him would be in danger as well. Angrily, he shook his head to rid it of worry. Then no matter what happens, I will not fail! I'll get my eyes back. Just you watch, you evil bastard!

…

[Outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato—Dawn…]

Several hours ago, a search party had been sent out for a group of missing Otogakure soldiers. All anyone knew was that there'd been a struggle. Someone had evidently used a blade, drawing large amounts of blood. No bodies had been found at all, and the lack of a report meant there were likely no survivors. The captain leading the search had just started making himself a cup of coffee when a scout walked into the room. He was pale, shaking and covered in drops of blood. "What is it?" asked the captain impatiently, "Report."

"Found them," the scout answered after a moment, his voice flat, "What's left of 'em, anyway. They were left in an area northeast of here. Can't believe it took so long, it's not hard to find."

Before the captain question him further, the scout vanished in a puff of smoke. "What's left of them?" he asked himself instead, "The hell's that mean?"

He informed his underlings to converge on the area the scout had mentioned, then set out himself. Indeed, it didn't take long to find the location of the twenty four officers. When they did, though, they wished they hadn't. All twenty four of them had been flayed to within an inch of their life (and some beyond that, having been decapitated), hung from the trees by an ankle and then left for the crows. Unfortunately for the others' appetites, the birds were already feeding.

…

_**A/N: And with that, I bid this story farewell...until its reincarnation.**_


	32. Author's Note: IT'S OUT!

UPDATE!

The re-write of "Naruto: The Dark Knight" is here!

Title is "Naruto: The Dark Knight REMIXED"!


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